AHB Level crossing timings

Usually 9-12 seconds before the train arrives

I know that AHBs aren't second nature to most people, but is it really necessary for Network Rail to treat them like 5-year-olds?

I know that AHBs aren't second nature to most people, but is it really necessary for Network Rail to treat them like 5-year-olds?

I know that AHBs aren't second nature to most people, but is it really necessary for Network Rail to treat them like 5-year-olds?

JC92 is correct - basically it is best to treat idiots as such. Very few level crossing irregularities are caused by children, mostly by adults who think they know better. I am aware of instances where people have got their cars trapped between barriers of CCTV crossings, regularly hear of pedestrians jumping over them, and the number of reports of near misses is statistically rising.

The amber light doesn't flash, it shows steady for a few seconds before the red wig-wag lights operate.

If memory serves me correctly, then AHBs are generally designed to be twenty-four seconds from the time when the train "Strikes in" (that is hit the approach treadle and/or track circuit) to its arrival at the crossing assuming that it is travelling at the maximum line speed.

It sounds to me like you may have been looking at only the flashing red lights not the steady amber which precedes it, although that would also indicate that the amber was lit for too long and the reds not long enough. Do you mind me asking what you were using to calculate the time - ie stopwatch or counting in your head?

Which crossing?

From the Developer's manual we work on (minimum) 29 secs on a single line and 39 on multiple line (at line speed) from strike-in point.

I was walking up the road towards the crossing and looking straight at it when the amber light came on. I timed it using the second hand of my watch and it was 14-15 seconds between looking at the watch for the first time and the train passing. I can't imagine I took longer than 3 seconds reaction time between seeing the amber and looking at the watch, so that's 18 seconds at most.

The best thing you could do is to stand at the crossing, time another one, and if it's still too short phone the signaller and use the words "wrong side failure".

I wonder if anybody on here can help answer this: A mate and I were out walking yesterday in Lydney (Glos) and were about to cross Naas Lane Automatic Half Barrier level crossing when the warning lights started flashing. No more than 15 seconds after the amber began to flash, the train came past (XC class 170, presumably Cardiff-Nottingham). I was concerned by how quickly the train arrived and I'm sure I read somewhere that there must be at least 27 seconds between the start of the warning sequence and the train arriving. Does a fault need reporting to Network Rail or are there other rules that apply here?

I was walking up the road towards the crossing and looking straight at it when the amber light came on. I timed it using the second hand of my watch and it was 14-15 seconds between looking at the watch for the first time and the train passing. I can't imagine I took longer than 3 seconds reaction time between seeing the amber and looking at the watch, so that's 18 seconds at most.

While it is implicit in your posts that the barriers were not down when the train passed, was that infact the case? I ask because I'd have expected that to have been the headline to your posts but you don't mention it.

I'd be a little wary of calling the signaller directly and using railway terminology, particularly if you don't work for the railway yourself, as it may cause some confusion.

I'm a member of the public calling from Naas Lane level crossing and I need to report a wrong-side failure." Tells them all the facts to start with, ensures you're not mistaken for a signalling technician and includes the magic words "wrong-side failure" to ensure it's immediately taken seriously.