A delegation of residents living near a railway crossing at Kilnageer - between the villages of Breaffy and Belcarra - attended the June meeting of the Castlebar Municipal District of Mayo County Council this week to appeal to the councillors to support their calls for a full-time solution to the railway crossing - where a serious accident occurred between a train and car on Wednesday, April 29.
Local resident, Des Mulligan, addressed the councillors to outline the local residents' concerns about the crossing, which has been an ongoing issue for a number of years - saying: "It is a fatality waiting to happen."
He went on to say that a new warning system with amber and red lights was causing confusion for motorists on the road - with people assuming that the amber light meant they had to stop as a train was coming.
Mulligan also pointed out that even with this new system in place, motorists still had to get out of their vehicles and open and close two gates either side of the railway line - and that they were looking for an automatic barrier system to be put in place.
There was full support for the calls from the local residents for their campaign from the elected members, who were also told by Anne Sweeney, senior executive engineer for Mayo County Council, that in the past, Mayo County Council had granted Irish Rail planning permission for a bridge to be built over the crossing; however, they had let that planning permission lapse without carrying out the work.
