by Helen Todd » Tue Feb 10, 2015 6:12 pm
Hi Martin
I work for Ramblers Scotland, which put out the news story you refer to. We are not aware of anyone being prosecuted for simply walking across a 'private' level crossing, but the fact remains that in Network Rail's eyes you would be committing criminal trespass if you are not the authorised user (usually the landowner, or farmer who uses the adjacent land).
This leads to statements such as in the Cicerone Munro guide which says walkers need permission from Network Rail to use the level crossing at Drumochter, etc. I don't have a clue where you would start to get that permission, and clearly most people just walk across. We are trying to get the legal situation clarified, but have not been able to see Network Rail's legal advice. In England, as I understand it, all crossings which are not public road crossings are public rights of way/ bridleways, so people have a legal right to cross. In Scotland public rights were not so well protected when the railways were built, but access has been tolerated across the line for decades until 2004 when blue 'authorised users only' signs appeared. We are now calling for statutory rights of access to be extended across all level crossings, to end this confusion and recognise what actually happens on the ground.
By the way, there have been incidents at Glen Lochy where walkers crossing the line to climb Ben Lui have been stopped by British Transport Police and cautioned - one person was charged but the case was not taken up by the Procurator Fiscal, I understand. In this case, though, there's no level crossing - we believe there should be one, given the amount of people using that route each year. The council has managed to get a culvert rebuilt to give access under the line, but I'm not sure this is much of an improvement.
Hope that helps.
Helen