Bus in railway crossing drama (From Daily Echo)

Bus caught up in Southampton railway crossing barrier

10:40am Monday 15th October 2012 in News

THIS was the dramatic scene when a doubledecker bus became snarled up with a level crossing barrier – just yards from a freight rail track in Southampton.

The Uni-Link bus was travelling through Dock Gate 4 when the automatic gate became entangled with the vehicle’s front.

Company bosses have launched an investigation to find out how and why it happened.

Fire crews from St Mary’s were sent to the scene at 2.20pm on Saturday, with specialist hydraulic equipment.

They spent about half an hour releasing the U1C bus, which runs between Dock Gate 4 and Southampton Airport, taking in WestQuay Shopping Centre, The Avenue and the university interchange at Highfield.

There were no passengers on board at the time.

Last night it was unclear how the bus became tangled with the barrier.

It came to rest yards from tracks which regularly carry heavy freight loads to and from the port as well as taking passengers to the cruise terminals.

A spokesman for Bluestar, the company that operates the Uni- Link network, said a full internal investigation will be held.

“The bus received very minor damage. We apologise for any delays caused by the incident.”