Footpath access is outdated

It does not make sense in the 21st century to still have in existence a network of footpaths crossing the main railway line where the speed of most trains is 60mph.

If you work on the railway you must wear high-visibility clothing and a hard hat as you must also on a building site.

In fact, the Health and Safety Executive has most things tied up with regulations for your own and others' safety, but you can walk across a railway line with no protection or high-visibility clothing with impunity as many times as you like.

Network Rail staff have to wear protective clothing, why not require the general public to do the same thing?

These footpaths and crossings were established in the 18th and 19th centuries for people to go to and from work and for their leisure activities to go from village to village.

It does seem strange that a well-used open crossing can have the whistle board removed because it meets the criteria of Network Rail and yet a crossing with locked gates and a stile, that you need to be an athlete to get over, still requires a whistle board.

In my opinion they should all be closed or updated to a degree that accidents like this are a thing of the past.

Colin Terry

Hamilton Close

Rustington