Teenage girls killed on level crossing

Two teenage girls were killed today when they were hit by a train at a village level crossing in England.

It was thought the pair may have been rushing to catch a train when they were struck by another one on the pedestrian part of the crossing at Elsenham, Essex, shortly before 11am.

Villagers said the gate had a red warning light when trains were approaching, but it could still be opened at any time.

They said two other people had died on the line in the last 20 years.

The girls’ deaths were being treated as a “tragic accident” while the exact circumstances were investigated, British Transport Police said.

One resident said that because of the layout of the station it was often not possible to see a train coming if another one travelling in the other direction was waiting at a platform.

This evening the station area was cordoned off as police studied the tracks, and train services were disrupted.

The train that struck the girls was the 7.24 Central service from Birmingham New Street to Stansted Airport.

They may have been confused by warning lights at the crossing, according to BBC News 24.

Reports said they were rushing to cross the tracks to catch a train when they were hit by a second train travelling in the opposite direction.

The BBC report said the girls may have thought a red light warning them not to cross was for the train they were trying to catch, and they were unaware of the other train.

Cliff Bishop, who runs the nearby East Anglia Books, said he believed a woman had been killed on the same crossing about 20 years ago.

“If you’re on the village side of the line and the train comes going to London you’ve got to cross over,” he said.

“The two platforms are not opposite each other – one’s on the left of the crossing and the other is on the right.

“If a train comes in and stops it blocks the view so if you cross behind the train and one’s coming the other way of course you don’t see it.

“The train stops with the rear end almost level with the crossing.

“There’s nothing to stop people opening those gates.

“In the week, when the commuters are there, there is quite a crowd of people waiting to open them and I should think there must be quite a few near misses.”

Kieren Baldwin, 17, who works at the nearby golf course, said: “It is a very small railway station.

“There is a level crossing for cars, and a man comes out to open the gates.

“But there is a pedestrian crossing, which is just a small gate, so people can get from one side of the station to the other.

“It can be opened at any time, there is a red and green light, so you know when to cross.”

A parish councillor, who asked not to be named, said her friend’s sons had been playing football near the station and had heard the accident as it happened.

“I do not know who it was, but I imagine it must have been local girls,” the woman said.

“It is very sad. It is just one of those things, you know you should not cross when there is red light, but when you are young you think you are invincible.”

She said a girl had committed suicide at the crossing within the last year.