Urgent road closure after lorry hits level crossing

A crossing has been closed to vehicles and pedestrians to allow trains to run safely

An urgent road closure has been put in place in Leicestershire after a lorry hit a level crossing, causing the barrier and a set of lights to be knocked off.

Network Rail said the crash happened at about 17:00 BST on Wednesday at a level crossing in Station Lane, between Asfordby and Kirby Bellars.

A spokesperson from Network Rail said the crossing was closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic to allow trains to run safely.

Leicestershire County Council said it had agreed to an emergency road closure order.

No injuries were reported when the barriers were damaged, police said

The council added the road was anticipated to be shut until Monday, but this would depend on when the work was completed.

A diversion has been put in place.

The Network Rail spokesperson added timescales for reopening were "a little unclear".

"Unfortunately, quite a lot of damage has been caused including the barrier being knocked off, and one set of the crossing lights being knocked over too," they said.

The spokesperson added: “We thank road users for their patience while our engineers repair damaged level crossing barriers.

“Our engineers are working as fast as they can to get the barriers working again so traffic can be controlled when trains are passing.

"While the level crossing is out of action, Station Lane will remain closed. Train services are running as normal.”

A barrier was knocked off when the lorry hit it, said Network Rail

Leicestershire Police said officers attended the scene where debris was reported to be on the track.

The forced added no injuries were reported.

Crosscountry, which operates trains that run through the crossing, said services had not been impacted.

However, this weekend unrelated, scheduled engineering work will be taking place on the Leicester to Nuneaton line - which runs through the crossing.

Due to this planned work, there will be rail replacement buses for that route.

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