Elsenham Railway Station - Elsenham Accidents

Elsenham Accidents

On 3 December 2005, a train struck and killed two teenage girls on the station pedestrian crossing, next to the manually operated road level crossing, between the staggered platforms. Although flashing red lights and a klaxon sound indicated that a train was approaching, it is likely that they thought these applied to the train they wanted to catch to Cambridge, which was just pulling in to the opposite platform. The curvature of the line gives only 3 seconds visibility of an approaching non-stop train. A previous fatality of the same type had occurred in 1989.

Previous risk assessments carried out by Network Rail in 2002 had identified potential dangers with the crossing and recommended the installation of gates that would lock automatically as trains approached, but this was not acted upon. In 2012 Network Rail was prosecuted for breaching health and safety law and fined £1 million for the accident.

Since the accident, Network Rail responded to requests from the girls' families and erected a footbridge and installed locking gates at the foot crossing in August 2007. The accident led to a complete review by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch of all pedestrian level crossings at stations.