Thieves take 7 steel gates from railway crossing

LIVES were put at risk by thieves who stole seven gates from railway level crossings in the north-west, transport chiefs have warned.

The 4.3m x 1.5m steel barriers were taken from junctions at Clonloo, near Boyle, Co Roscommon and Culfadda, near Ballymote, Co Sligo.

That they were missing was noticed on Sunday morning and Iarnród Éireann workers moved quickly to secure the unprotected openings.

Jane Cregan, spokeswoman for Iarnród Éireann, said the removal posed a big threat to lives.

“Obviously it’s a very serious matter to have a live railway with no barriers for pedestrians or livestock,” she said. “This is something that we are taking very seriously, and indeed the gardaí are investigating it.

“It could have caused a very serious incident and we are just happy that nothing happened.”

While Iarnród Éireann has been targeted before for copper cabling, they have not had steel gates, which would be much less valuable, stolen.

The company said it was possible thieves wanted the gates for their own use or to sell on for use again.

Gardaí in Boyle and Ballymote are investigating.