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Meadow Lane Rail Crossing opens

posted 6 Mar 2014, 04:05 by Unknown user
The replacement of the level crossing and manned signal box at Meadow Lane, Sneinton is now complete. 
Instead of crossing at the barrier, which was operated from the adjacent signal box, pedestrians and cyclists now climb a series of ramps and stairs to cross. The design has improved markedly from early versions thanks to feedback from the community, in particular:
  • The fencing is very open to improve visibility and give a sense of direction- you can see there is somewhere to go to on the other side!
  • The ramps no longer block off the Trent Lane route- this both obstructed the view and made it impossible to open up the level route again in the future.
  • The bridge itself is a more open design, offering views out and good surveillance
  • There is a connection directly to the Green Way, instead of people having to go down to Trent Lane then back up the ramps to cross the bridge, there are now a few short steps connecting the ramps and the Green Way path.
Nevertheless, it is an expensive engineering project that has made the area less safe (it is no longer supervised 24/7 from the signal box) and if you happen to be pushing a pram or in a wheelchair you now have to walk hundreds of metres further to cross the line. Less risk for Network Rail, swings and roundabouts for Sneinton.

It's not the first footbridge at Sneinton Junction, we came across this c.1952 image posted by a user on the RMWEB site. You can see the signal box on the right:


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