Safety fencing to be installed after car almost plunges on to rail track in Corby
There were rail workers on the track at the time of the near-miss
Tata Steel has applied to fix fencing around the Geddington Road railway bridge after a crashed car cleared a fence and almost fell 14m on to the track.
The company now wants to prevent a similar accident happening and has applied to Corby Council to be allowed to put up 2.4-high fencing on the roadside.
The road bridge runs over a train track that serves the Tata Steel plant in Weldon Road, bringing steel from Port Talbot to the town.
Their planning application states that, in October 2019, a car cleared the containment barrier on the side of the road and smashed into a wooden fence.
It continues: "The car then became struck between the barrier and the bridge. If the car had rotated further it would have fallen approximately 14 metres onto the railway line, potentially causing serious injury or fatalities.
"As a result of the incident debris fell onto the line. The applicant’s rail contractor was working on the line at the time. Both the police and fire brigade were involved in this incident, and contacted the applicant for assistance.
"To prevent a recurrence of this incident and to improve the health and safety in the area, the applicant proposes to install a 2.4-metre palisade fence on both sides of the road in front of the existing 1 metre high wooden fence up to Geddington Road Bridge.
"This will ensure intruders and trespassers are not able to scale the fence and gain access to the railway."