Train near miss

By Melissa Grant
BUSTED boom gates are being blamed for a near miss at a railway crossing.
Charlie Tabone is thanking his lucky stars after the close call at the McGregor Road railway crossing on Monday afternoon.
Mr Tabone said the boom gates and warning lights failed at the crossing about 1.15pm.
He said he drove across the railway lines and seconds later looked in his rear view mirror to see a train passing behind him.
“I had just got over the line when the train came,” he said.
“I didn’t know until I looked in my rear vision mirror.
“There were no bells going, no boom gates.”
Mr Tabone said the Connex train, which he believed had just left Pakenham station, then came to a halt.
“The train came through then stopped,” he said.
“When it stopped the last carriage was on the intersection.
“The gate wasn’t even down afterwards.”
Mr Tabone’s wife Dawn, who wasn’t in the car at the time of the incident, said her husband had the shock of his life.
“He almost had a heart attack,” she said.
Mrs Tabone believed the failure could have had something to do with the storm but said the problem needed to be addressed before it was too late.
“If you got killed they would have thought they’re a silly girl or boy,” she said.
“They would say the driver was at fault.”
Mr Tabone said he also wanted an explanation from Connex.
“How come the trains are coming across when there are no boom gates or lights going?” he said.
Connex failed to respond to inquiries from the News before deadline.