Heulwen Jones wants to know how much the wardens cost

But the scheme has fallen foul of European safety regulations and the company has been forced to employ guards to operate the gates at the remote site.

It said the wardens could be there for two years while the issue is sorted out but local people have queried the cost of employing the full-time staff in comparison to the bill for installing an automatic system.

Resident Heulwen Jones said: "The (wardens) system is the safest you can get but can they afford to keep this up?

"They complain about the cost of an automatic system - what is this system costing?"

Questions about the safety of the crossing were raised following the 1999 death of tourist Kathleen Yettman.

The tourists' car was catapulted 50 yards

An inquest returned a verdict of accidental death after the hire car in which she was travelling was struck by a train on the crossing which at that time was unmanned.

Residents said they had complained regularly about the small size the warning lights at the scene and how gates on the crossing were often left open.

The inquest into Mrs Yettman's death heard that the American couple's car was catapulted 50 yards along the track by the impact of the 60mph collision with the Lincoln to Aberystwyth passenger train.

Mrs Yettman, 44, a front seat passenger, died and her husband, who was driving, was seriously injured.

He later told British Transport Police he had not seen the warning lights or signs and that the crossing gates were open.

The sign at the Llanbrynmair crossing

In a statement, Mr Yettman said a house alongside the track prevented him from seeing to the right and after checking left he crept across.

He said the train suddenly appeared from the right colliding with the car and throwing it into the air.

Train driver Geraint Jones said he sounded a two-tone horn 200 yards from the crossing which was clear, but then he saw a blur and there was an enormous bang which threw him from his seat.

Warning lights

Crossing supervisor Alun Lloyd told the inquest that the Llanbrynmair crossing was a black spot where gates were left open more often than they were closed.

He said the warning lights were working and on red at the time of the crash.

But one of the first police officers on the scene reported the light was green when he arrived 30 minutes after the collision.