Cycling with friends this weekend near Marquis Drive we noticed something that made us do a double take. A brand new 25 metre section of railway line complete with ballast, sleepers and rails in the middle of a forest clearing!!!!
Closer inspection revealed it is a joint project between the Forestry Commission and Network Rail to research railway crossings.
Many people will know that the new Monkey Trail mountain bike route on Cannock Chase is in the Rawnsley forest. This involves crossing from the Follow the Dog route over first a railway line then a very busy road. Apparently the unmanned railway crossing at Moors Gorse is now one of the busiest in the country following the opening of the Monkey Trail, prompting Network Rail to have a representative on the crossing at peak periods (weekends) to help with safety. One can only guess that the project up next to Marquis Drive is related.
There are gates either side of the Moors Gorse crossing at the bottom of Kitbag Hill and I’m told the only safe way is for one person to cross at a time. People have been queuing across the track at busy periods to get through the gates, which is just daft.
Network Rail are currently running a campaign some may have seen on Top Gear, which although done with humour brought home how dangerous these crossings are.