Helpston Level Crossing, Cambridgeshire

Date filmed: 17/10/2020
Note: This faulty alarm has since been replaced as of mid-2021.

Routes: East Coast Main Line / Birmingham to Peterborough Line
Helpston Junction

Crossing type: Manually Controlled Barriers crossing (MCB)

Location: B1443 Glinton Road, Helpston
Trains:
Lowering 1 (0:00):
158 777 (East Midlands Railway - Regional) - 2:23
-
Lowering 2 (2:57):
1) Class 801 (LNER Azuma) - 4:14
2) 158 852 (East Midlands Railway - Regional) - 4:51
3) 66 753 (GBRf) - 5:36

A very long and rather iconic level crossing found a few miles to the north of Peterborough within the village of Helpston. At roughly 230ft in length, it is the longest level crossing in the UK, and it spans a total of six tracks with the extra two for the Birmingham to Peterborough Line separated by a short stretch of the level crossing from the four tracks of the East Coast Main Line. It takes a considerable amount of time to walk from one side to the other at this level crossing as a result.
This level crossing was previously two separate manual level crossings, one for each line, but was made into one very long level crossing during re-signalling, and now the signal box which controls it is located in the middle of the level crossing itself. There are four loud alarms at this level crossing, one of which had become incredibly faulty as of recent to the time of filming and it sounded with a slow and very wobbly tone. It has since been replaced, though. The four barriers here have also been renewed since my previous visits here, and the current four were installed in June 2020 to replace the previous set of barriers which were in a very tired state.

The faulty alarm can also be heard close up in the second video, and it is very loud! During the second lowering, the Class 66 passed a few minutes later than the other trains so the barriers were lowered for a long period of time.

Train details sourced from:
Real Time Trains: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/sear...
Open Train Times: https://www.opentraintimes.com/maps
Traksy: https://traksy.uk/live

Filmed on: Panasonic HC-V160 in 1080p 60fps

Thanks for watching!