One of Croydon’s biggest secondary schools, Riddlesdown Collegiate, is closed today out of respect for the grieving family of a pupil who was killed on the railway line near Kenley Station yesterday morning.
Kenley Station: the Y7 pupil was killed on a pedestrian crossing near the station
The child, a Year 7 pupil at Riddlesdown, was pronounced dead at the scene despite being attended by London Ambulance Service and British Transport Police. They had been hit by the 7.55am Caterham to London Bridge train.
Commuters in the Purley area said they saw a fire engine at the scene, which was at a pedestrian crossing of the railway lines between Kenley and Whyteleafe stations.
Network Rail closed the line between Purley and Caterham and Tattenham Corner for most of the morning. “It is with great sadness that we can confirm a person died after being hit by a train and our thoughts and prayers are with their family and friends at this difficult time,” a spokesperson said.
In a letter distributed to all parents and carers of Riddlesdown pupils last night, the school’s principal, Daniel Osborne, wrote “with immense sadness” that the pupil had died.
Dealing with grief: Riddlesdown Collegiate
Describing the incident as “a tragic accident”, Osborne wrote that the pupil “was believed to be his own”, with no others pupils hurt in any way.
A parents’ evening planned for last night was cancelled.
The school’s letter announced that it would be closed today for regular lessons today. “However, we wish to keep the Collegiate open from 8.30am – 12.00pm as a place where members of the community can drop in to come together, support each other and seek support from staff at the Collegiate and other professionals,” the letter said.
“On Monday, we shall re-open the Collegiate as normal and will speak with all students directly through assemblies and tutor time.
“This tragedy will undoubtedly affect all of us. Please be assured that we will do our best to support everyone and move forward together as a community.”
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I live near Kenley Station and was not aware of the pedestrian crossing. I’m surprised it was in operation.
I think this must refer to the Bourneview Level Crossing just south of the water works. Bourne View is a cul de sac off the A22. What a tragedy – trains are pretty infrequent
It was probably at the Bourne View footpath crossing, but that is not a level crossing. The Purley to Caterham railway line is not very long, but has lots of different types of crossings:
a) road bridges over the line x 3 (Higher Drive, Hayes Lane and Burntwood Lane),
b) footbridges over the line x 3 (Roke crossing with ramps up to footbridge, Barn Lane crossing with steps up to footbridge, Stumps Lane crossing with ramps up to footbridge),
c) level crossings x 2 (Whyteleafe Hill just south of Whyteleafe Stn, and Salmons Lane just south of Whyteleafe South Stn),, but the most dangerous (by some margin) is the Bourne View footpath crossing, which just has a manual gate to open and a “Look both ways” sign.
It is ridiculous to have such a dangerous crossing in the London borough with the largest population and on a line with 4 trains per hour for 16 hours a day seven days a week.
agree but since 2020, only two trains an hour ‘because of covid’
It’s two per direction of travel. So 4 per hour is correct.
Note the godstone line also has a foot crossing with just gates in riddlesdown common. This has more trains per hour and has worse sight lines.
Accessing the level crossing from the west side exposes a serious safety flaw in its design, as going through the kissing gate places the the pedestrian’s back towards oncoming rail traffic moving on the nearest set of lines (Caterham -> London Bridge line). This needs an urgent rethink to prevent any such further tragedies.
It’s a devastating moment for this community, I offer my sincerest condolences to the child’s family.
We must do whatever we can to get the relevant authorities to close this crossing to avoid further tragedies. I knew this lovely young boy. He was respectful and kind. A wonderful son to his parents and brother to his siblings. It is heartbreaking. Please advise anyone you know to avoid using the crossing until it is made safer for public use.