In message om,
Grendel writes

In article , Richard J. wrote:

I'm interested in level crossings on busy lines. For example, on the
line between Richmond and Barnes, which carries 17 trains per hour in
the peak*, there are several crossings.

I live in this area and am motorist.. it's usually not too bad, the
trains seem evenly spaced and it's rare that you have to sit waiting at
a crossing for more than one train to go past.

Sorry to disagree, but I live very much "in the area" (three of the
crossings to the east of me, two to the west, all within walking
distance and the line within sight of the house). I find that it is very
rare for only one train to go through before the barriers are lifted.

It is very common to find four trains allowed through before the barrier
is raised (a fast Windsor plus a slow stopper in each direction).

There seems to be some effort to raise the barriers more than four times
an hour during peak periods, but conversely weekends can be seriously
bad with sometimes 5-6 trains allowed through in succession before road
traffic is allowed to move.

The roads in Barnes that have the crossings aren't main roads either,
therefore don't carry much traffic.

But they are all direct turns off the South Circular, so they can get
congested if the A205 is stationary (which it often can be).

The worst is the crossing on Sheen Lane - a very busy road, and the
queue can back up all the way onto Mortlake High Street during peak
hours.

Again, I disagree. Sheen Lane can be busy, but tail-backs on the Manor
Road crossing have often been known to block the A316 Lower Richmond
Road (that's the main way out to the M3 folks) to the North and the A305
Upper Richmond Road to the South.

Having lived here for 30 years, I have to admire the skills and
technology involved when the crossings are working well - its a battle
against the odds and astonishing that accents are not more frequent -
but there are other times when lazy/trainee signalmen are on when the
succession of crossings becomes a serious impediment in the area, not
least to emergency services.

--
Paul Terry