Rail crossing temporarily closed for maintenance

A pedestrian crossing over a railway, previously branded as one of the most dangerous in the country, has been temporarily closed for maintenance.

Dorset Council said the crossing at Wareham Station would be closed for up to four days from Monday while essential work to rewire the pedestrian crossing gates is completed.

The gates were installed after Network Rail reported a high number of people ignoring danger signals and the council pays £120,000 a year for crossing attendants to manually open them.

The authority said the work was about "reliability and safety" and it was not linked to any future plans regarding ground level access.

Last year, it was decided that the crossing would remain open despite Network Rail's plan to close it, which was refused in 2018.

That followed a long-running dispute seeing residents' campaigning against the closure since 2012.

The bridge over the railway lines can only be accessed by steps.

In January 2025, Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland said funding to staff the gates would continue for as long as he leads the council.

The existing lease for the crossing, which was set to expire in 2038, would also be replaced with a rolling agreement.

The council said it was "keeping the closure as short as possible", as it knew the stepped footbridge "isn't suitable for everyone".

"This work is about reliability and safety. Rewiring prevents potential system failures.

"It is not linked to any future plans regarding ground level access," it added.

The authority said advance notice signs were on site and that dates might change at short notice "if conditions require, but a signed pedestrian diversion will be in place during the closure".

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