Near miss at Helpston level crossing

At around 08:16 on 21 October 2025, a near miss occurred at Helpston manually controlled barrier level crossing, near to Peterborough, in Cambridgeshire.

During this incident, the crossing barriers were raised in front of waiting road vehicles as a freight train arrived at the crossing. The train then entered the crossing while the barriers were rising. The barriers subsequently became fully raised, and the wig-wag lights extinguished, before the barriers were again lowered. Fortunately, the waiting road vehicle users became aware of the train and did not enter the crossing.

We have undertaken a preliminary examination into the circumstances surrounding this incident. Having assessed the evidence which has been gathered to date, we have decided to publish a safety digest.