‘A hell of an expense’ locals puzzled by security presence at rural rail crossing
ByThe Courier Reporter
Workers are being paid to man a rural level crossing used by only a handful of people seven days a week.
Since September guards from a Glasgow-based firm have been employed by Network Rail to operate the manual gate in Springfield until an automatic barrier is installed.
Residents complained thousands of pounds were being wasted to do a job residents previously did themselves.
One said: “It’s a hell of an expense. Two workers are travelling through here from the west of Scotland every day.
“They take it in turns to sit there all day long and lift the gate every now and again.”
The Hospital Mill level crossing is regularly used by only two households, a farmer and walkers.
Network Rail said plans were being drawn up for a new automatic barrier but was unable to say when it would be installed.
A spokesman said: “There was a problem with people not using the barrier properly. They were pumping it up and leaving it up.
“This is the safest way for the crossing to operate. It is a short-term solution until the automatic barrier is installed.”
‘A hell of an expense’ locals puzzled by security presence at rural rail crossing