Safety fears as children play next to train track with claims they have been playing ‘chicken’ on the Inverness-Nairn railway line on the pedestrian crossing at Lochdhu
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A worried Tradespark mum claims children have been playing ‘chicken’ on the Inverness-Nairn railway line, on the pedestrian crossing at Lochdhu.
The incident happened at about 5pm on Sunday, March 14, when a neighbour at the crossing saw two boys beside the track as a train approached.
The woman, who went on social media to alert parents but has asked not to be named, reported the matter to police and it was passed on to British Transport Police (BTP).
They investigated and spoke to the driver of the train which came from Inverness. The driver said he only saw a youngster looking through the gate and he adopted the normal procedure approaching the crossing by slowing down and sounding the horn.
However, the eyewitness insisted: “One of the boys was on the track bending down and with his arms open wide. The other boy was at the side of the track.
“Without doubt the driver sounded his horn in an abnormal manner. I’ve lived here for eight years and they only sound the horn once approaching the crossing and slow down.
“My 24-year-old son was in the house and although he never saw the boys he heard the sound of the horn and agrees it was not the normal warning you get when a train passes.”
She said she was visited by BTP who told her it would take about 10 seconds from the time the crossing came into view before it passed through the crossing.
“It all happened so quickly,” she said. “I said ‘Oh my god’ and the train seemed to be there. They jumped off the track and back through the gate as the train passed but the horn still sounded as he was going through the crossing.”
The woman said she put the matter on social media to alert parents.
“The boys were aged about 10 and 11.
“Children of that age should not be allowed to use that crossing unless they are accompanied.
“They had their bikes and were playing earlier near the burn and that worried me.”
She said after the train had passed she gave the boys a telling off and told them to go and play in a nearby playing field, which they did.
BTP told her they would be visiting local schools to highlight the dangers of playing on railway lines.
She said some good was coming of her reporting it.
A BTP spokesman said: “Officers have made enquiries into this report and concluded it was not a near miss and was not reported as such.
“The train driver saw a child pop his head over the fence of the foot crossing.”
