Level Crossing

Got caught up by a level crossing today which meant a frustrating wait to get to the shops.
Not that a wait of a few minutes is really that frustrating and in this part of Hampshire we are used to the intersection of railway and highway like this.
I was surprised to learn however that there are more than 6,000 level crossings like this on the rail network around the country.
I always approach them with some trepidation, having seen for myself the aftermath of a mangled car alongside the line in one Hampshire village a little while back.
Railway authorities and local communities do what they can to emphasise the safety considerations of spots like this.  In fact this is one of the better ones which provides a footbridge across the track for pedestrians.

In some ways I was fortunate to be at the head of the queue when the lights began flashing, which meant I had an uninterrupted view of the passing train.  But this is a main line with trains passing with frequency, and at busy times the resulting traffic queue can cause a log jam right back into the town centre.