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ECML level crossing incident 13/06/21

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TUC

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Yep, turned into an unofficial sleeper if their going all the way to Edinburgh, now scheduled to arrive 05.20, due to call at Morpeth, Alnmouth & Dunbar too, must admit quite surprised it wasn't terminated short with it being so late.
It does beg the question what one would do with the passengers in that scenario. Turfing them out onto a cold platform at 0200 whilst seeking to secure rail replacement buses which might take until 0400 to arrive would not be a good look.
 
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800001

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How was the train driver informed? (Presuming that he / she wouldn't have felt anything)

Passcomm activated or train crew called the cab perhaps?
Driver is fine, only alerted by his in cab Train Monitoring System coming up with multiple warning lights, and I believe, Train crew pulling pass com.
He had posted on twitter in several peoples tweets about what happened.
 

rower40

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1Y11 Fort William sleeper, due in at 0955, finally arrived just before 1400. That’s the kind of lie-in I dream of!
 

Statto

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It does beg the question what one would do with the passengers in that scenario. Turfing them out onto a cold platform at 0200 whilst seeking to secure rail replacement buses which might take until 0400 to arrive would not be a good look.

You also have to consider drivers exceeding there hours, don't know whether LNER managed to find spare drivers for the delayed trains or drivers doing the full run with the delay, half the reason trains sometimes terminate short when faced with delays of this nature.
 

Meerkat

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Are there more spare drivers knocking about due to reduced services?
 

LOL The Irony

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Unless it is something like a American Lincoln Town Car or a Land Rover Discovery it will be nothing like 2 ton's. Most British car's typically weigh around the 1 ton mark.
It looked like a Range Rover on the pictures
It was a 1st generation Range Rover Sport (so a Disco 3 in drag). I just checked and the "poverty" spec weighs almost 2.5 tonnes.
 

TUC

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You also have to consider drivers exceeding there hours, don't know whether LNER managed to find spare drivers for the delayed trains or drivers doing the full run with the delay, half the reason trains sometimes terminate short when faced with delays of this nature.
Yes, but my point is that those needs don't override the duty of care to the passengers that would arise from leaving them in the cold and dark in the middle of the night. It would be an issue that the TOC would just have to find a solution for, 2 in the morning or not.
 

ainsworth74

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Yes, but my point is that those needs don't override the duty of care to the passengers that would arise from leaving them in the cold and dark in the middle of the night. It would be an issue that the TOC would just have to find a solution for, 2 in the morning or not.
Perhaps they've learned something since detraining 500 passengers at Spalding on a cold dark November Sunday?

 

Aictos

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Saw the CCTV on Monday, looked very bad at point of impact. The occupants were lucky to escape with their lives.
 

Stampy

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Perhaps they've learned something since detraining 500 passengers at Spalding on a cold dark November Sunday?


I remember that incident...

I dropped a friend off near to Spalding station, and via the police - offered a lift back to Peterborough to a few people.
 

ainsworth74

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They've tracked him down thankfully:

Man charged following Rossington collision​


A 27-year-old man has been charged in connection with an incident in Rossington last weekend.

Michael Rochford, of Heatherfields Crescent, Rossington, appeared before Doncaster Magistrates Court yesterday morning (Friday 18 June) charged with dangerous driving, committing an act with intent to pervert the course of justice and failing to stop following a road traffic collision.

Police were called at 8pm on Sunday 13 June with reports of a collision between a vehicle and a train at Rossington. No serious injuries were reported, but significant damage was caused as a result of the incident.

Rochford has been bailed to appear before Sheffield Crown Court in July.

 

swt_passenger

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He’s not reported as being charged with stealing the vehicle, so maybe it is an insured incident?
 

ainsworth74

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It was his own vehicle, to top it all, I'm lead to believe he works(ed) for Network Rail.
Well. There is a LinkedIn profile for a signalling technician of that name whose location is Doncaster. But I assumed it must, surely, be an unfortunate coincidence of two different people sharing a name...
 

61653 HTAFC

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Nothing about endangering the safety of the railway?
It is theoretically possible that further charges may follow. This is just a guess, but would a charge specifically related to the railway be investigated by British Transport Police rather than the local force (in this case South Yorkshire)? I'd assume that SYP won't have the specific knowledge required to investigate such matters, whereas the BTP would (as thinly-spread as they are).
 

C J Snarzell

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That's nice to see. And thanx for the update.

It looks likely he may get jail time, as I'm lead to believe that magistrate's can't hand out lengthy jail terms.

Thats right - Magistrates have limited powers and can only impose sentencing of six months or less. Something as serious as this would have to go before the Crown Court for a Judge to pass sentence.

CJ
 

Deepgreen

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Thats right - Magistrates have limited powers and can only impose sentencing of six months or less. Something as serious as this would have to go before the Crown Court for a Judge to pass sentence.

CJ
So that's it then - another joke punishment. What a truly bizarre incident.
 

Clip

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So that's it then - another joke punishment. What a truly bizarre incident.
I'm not sure I follow you here. The magistrates have referred it to crown court as they couldn't deal with it
 

ainsworth74

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So that's it then - another joke punishment. What a truly bizarre incident.

I think perhaps there is a slight misunderstanding? The case came before the magistrates court (as I believe all criminal cases do initially) but has been referred onto the Crown Court (who have much greater sentencing powers) for a future hearing. The magistrates having probably just dealt with the issue bail (whether they can have it or not) so far and the rest will be handled by the Crown Court. As yet no punishment has come down, indeed currently they're not even officially guilty of anything (though I'm sure we all have our own opinions on this!) as they've not yet had an actual trial!
 

DarloRich

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So that's it then - another joke punishment. What a truly bizarre incident.

I think you might want to have a look at how the justice system works. @ainsworth74 has it right. The Mags have, essentially, said this alleged offence is so serious that it goes beyond the punishment they could levy on the accused should they be found guilty.
 

norbitonflyer

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I think you might want to have a look at how the justice system works. @ainsworth74 has it right. The Mags have, essentially, said this alleged offence is so serious that it goes beyond the punishment they could levy on the accused should they be found guilty.
That's right - most (all?) criminal cases start in the magistrates' courts, and are immediately referred to the Crown Court if the magistrates deem it beyond their limited jurisdiction. Crown Court cases take time to prepare, but a suspect in police custody will appear before magistrates usually the very next morning after their arrest, to set the ball rolling, arrange bail etc.
 

Mcr Warrior

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Presumably the individual in this particular matter is potentially facing more than 60 hours of community service? :rolleyes:
 

SamYeager

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That's right - most (all?) criminal cases start in the magistrates' courts, and are immediately referred to the Crown Court if the magistrates deem it beyond their limited jurisdiction.
It is however, by no means guaranteed that the sentence given in the Crown Court will exceed the maximum possible (6 months?) from the Magistrates Court. I've certainly read gripes in the past from some magistrates about low sentences from the Crown Court.
 

Table 52

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In this particular case, I think it’s been referred to he crown court as one of the charges is perverting the course of justice. That’s a charge that can only be tried on indictment, which means it can only be heard by a crown court, not by magistrates, regardless of what they believe the sentence length could be.
 

ainsworth74

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Presumably the individual in this particular matter is potentially facing more than 60 hours of community service? :rolleyes:
Yeah I think it's safe to say that the three things they've been charged with leading to the case being kicked to the Crown Court means they're facing more than a community service order. Even the dangerous driving could attract two years imprisonment when tried in the Crown Court. Intending to pervert the course of justice is the biggie (and the reason this has gone to the Crown Court) as that can carry a life sentence. Though, from a quick poke at Google, it sounds like it usually tops out at a few years imprisonment.

On the basis of the, limited (particularly with regards to the perverting the course of justice charge), information available it would seem likely that if found guilty they're looking at a spell of time behind bars. Even if they make an early guilty plea and get a discount for that off their final sentence.
I've certainly read gripes in the past from some magistrates about low sentences from the Crown Court.
Perhaps the, mostly volunteer, magistrates should get their own house in order before throwing shade at their professional colleagues in the Crown Court?
 
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