​Rail companies are restricting access to level crossings, says Ramblers Scotland

Ten years after statutory rights of access were secured to most of Scotland’s land and water, Ramblers Scotland has called on the Scottish Parliament to resolve the long-running confusion over the public’s right to use level crossings on Scotland’s railway lines.

Although there are public rights of access across 150 of Scotland’s level crossings, the remainder are referred to as "private crossings".

According to the charity, access by non-motorised users to these crossings was tolerated by Railtrack and its predecessors until 2004 but since then, despite no legislative change having taken place, Network Rail has insisted that anyone who is not the specified authorised user would be committing criminal trespass by using any of these crossings.

Ramblers Scotland convener, David Thomson, said: “Today Scotland can rightly celebrate 10 years of world-class access legislation, and there is a widespread acceptance that the right to roam is working well.

“But there is one outstanding issue in the lack of clarity over public rights to cross railway lines, which affects around 70% of Scotland’s 600 level crossings. In Network Rail’s view, any member of the public using the crossing is committing criminal trespass. We believe the current Scottish Government consultation on land reform is an ideal opportunity to resolve this issue.

These crossings are used by walkers, cyclists and horseriders, with thousands reliant upon these as important routes in some locations

“These crossings are used by walkers, cyclists and horseriders, with thousands reliant upon these as important routes in some locations. In some cases the crossings pre-date the construction of the railway as they were existing established paths."

Thomson said that in rural areas the nearest point people can cross could be many miles away and therefore these private crossings have immense importance both to local communities and also to those enjoying outdoor recreation.

He added: “We believe the position taken by Network Rail is based on a misunderstanding of the basis on which access is taken in Scotland, and instead is based on their perception of the England and Wales rights of way legislation. Network Rail has proved to be very uncooperative in resolving this issue over the past decade."

The current Scottish Government consultation on land reform is an opportunity for the Scottish Parliament to resolve this situation by amending the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, said Thomson.