Worries over vehicle strikes at level crossings

Railway safety inspectors have expressed concern about the number of incidents where vehicles are colliding with trains at level crossings.

A report by the Railway Accident Investigation Unit has claimed the regular misuse by local people of a level crossing at Knockaphunta, near Castlebar, Co Mayo, contributed to such accidents.

The report examined the background to how a car struck the Dublin-Westport train at the crossing on June 8, 2014. The driver of the vehicle escaped serious injury, though she had to be cut free from the wreck after her car was thrown into a nearby ditch by the impact.