I WRITE in response to Mr Michael Fielding's letter in the Bury Times (March 28) entitled "Retain this right of way".

The East Lancashire Railway locks the Baron Street crossing gates for the majority of the working week in favour of road users. During weekday mornings and afternoons, when students from both St Gabriel's and Bury Grammar Schools need to use the street to gain access to and egress from their school, then the gates are padlocked in their favour. The students may also use the recently repaired Belle Vue terrace footbridge. When the railway needs to use the crossing, a locomotive crew member dismounts, opens the gates to the railway after ensuring that road users are first attended to, calls the locomotive across and then closes the gates in favour of the road. The average crossing time is approximately three minutes. For control reasons a side gate is inappropriate. The railway uses the crossing infrequently during the working week and on some 40 weekends per year; on Saturdays there is one locomotive movement each way while on Sundays there are only two locomotive movements each way.

During 12 weekends per year when the East Lancashire Railway stages special events, there are up to six locomotive movements across Baron Street each way, each day. On March 11 and 12 we held a Steam Enthusiasts Weekend and were operating a shuttle service to the locomotive works, which crossed Baron Street once every 20 minutes. The crossing was manned on March 11 specifically to facilitate pedestrian access. A director of the company had applied for a temporary road closure order. I was on duty as the guard on the shuttle service on March 12, and personally opened the gate to waiting pedestrians, I explained the need for the gates to be closed and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

Thus, I strongly refute the inference in Mr Fielding's letter that the railway is padlocking the gates against pedestrians and permanently closing this alleged right of way.

DAVID WRIGHT,

company secretary,

East Lancashire Light Railway Co Ltd.

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