Written question asked by Richard Holden (Conservative) on Friday, 6 February 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 10 February 2026. It was answered by Keir Mather (Labour) on Monday, 23 February 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Level Crossings

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assurances she has had from Network Rail on steps being taken to minimise unnecessary barrier down-time at level crossings, while maintaining safety; and how such assurances will be monitored.

Answer: Network Rail is responsible for the safe operation of level crossings across the rail network. The safety measures it puts in place are informed by risk assessments which include, where relevant, available information on barrier down-time. Network Rail is overseen in this by the independent rail safety regulator, the Office of Rail and Road, which requires duty holders to ensure that the safety mitigations they put in place are reasonably practicable and do not expose passengers, the public or workforce to risk at level crossings.

Secondary information