Several issues with Navigation Road crossing (From Messenger Newspapers)

Several issues with Navigation Road crossing

4:41pm Monday 23rd January 2012 in Your Letters

I read with interest the article regarding Navigation Road crossings and the dangerous behaviour being targeted by Transport Police.

Whilst I in no way condone the activities of people jumping the barrier, etc, I can fully understand the reason why people take such risks.

There is a tram in each direction every 6-minutes, there are a minimum of two Northern Rail diesels per hour, add to that half-a-dozen freight trains each day and there is a lot of rail traffic along this stretch of line.

The normal operation of the trams is that a tram from Manchester approaches and then stops at the station, passengers disembark and embark then this tram leaves and crosses a Manchester bound tram which shortly afterwards arrives at Navigation Road Station. In most cases the crossings remain closed for the whole of this process which in my estimation can take 3-minutes each time. Add to that an average of 3-minutes for each diesel and freight train. In any hour the crossings are closed for as long, if not longer than they are open.

If you arrive 5-minutes early and are hoping to catch the hourly diesel train and are approaching from the Broadheath side of the station; it is common for the crossing to remain closed whilst two trams cross, then the diesel you hope to catch passes through, if it’s going to Chester you’ve already missed it. If it is Stockport bound, it stops sufficiently far up the platform and the diesel doesn’t wait, so even if you race across the crossings when they open you still miss the train, not to worry only another hour before the next one!

If you are catching a tram, it is a similar situation, but with less drastic consequences as there’ll be another one soon. But why can’t they put a tram ticket machine on the other side of the crossings so that when you are waiting for the gates to open your time is not totally wasted, at least you can purchase your ticket.

The trams and trains have some sort of train protection system linked to the signals, this ensure that should a tram or train pass a red signal the brakes are automatically applied. There is a signal on the stretch of track by the platform; this means that the crossings do not need to be closed when a tram/train approaches from Manchester until the tram/train is stationary and almost ready to leave. Unfortunately the signalmen shut the Navigation Road crossing at the same time as the Deansgate Lane one is closed.

So to cut down on the number of breaches i) add a tram ticket dispenser to the Northern Rail side, ii) ensure the diesels wait for passengers racing across the recently opened crossing, iii) don’t close the crossing until the tram/train is ready to leave. A footbridge would be good too.

By all means have your awareness days and enforcement days but it is about time that the Transport Police started to accept that there are other factors at play here.

Mike Battman