Train almost hits car crossing the tracks on Route 117

Lincoln officials are looking for answers from Keolis after a car that was driving through the railroad crossing on Route 117 was almost hit by a train — just three months after a similar incident left a Wilmington woman dead.

A shaken Lincoln resident called 911 on the afternoon of April 11 after an oncoming commuter train narrowly missed her car as it crossed the tracks. There was no warning of an approaching train because the safety gates were not lowered, but “thankfully, the vehicle just made it through the crossing as the train arrived, narrowly avoiding a tragedy,” Town Administrator Tim Higgins wrote in am April 14 letter of complaint to Kellie Andrews, Vice President for Safety at Keolis, which managed the MBTA’s commuter rail service. Other vehicles in the area managed to stop in time.

Lincoln police immediately contacted the MBTA, which had already been notified of the incident by the train driver, Police Chief Kevin Kennedy said. He would not supply any further information about the Lincoln resident who made the 911 call.

Witnesses reported what appeared to be a train maintenance crew was working in the area at the time, and one said that one of the workers “was acting in a ‘panicking manner with hands on his head’ as the incident was unfolding,” Higgins wrote.

Until Keolis checked to make sure that all crossing gates were operating safely, train crews  in the area stopped at each crossing (even if the gates were properly lowered), got off the train, checked for oncoming traffic, and “walked the train across… just crawling across the track,” Kennedy said.

“As part of the town’s due diligence, it is essential that we have a full understanding of the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident, its cause, and an opportunity for a  post-incident meeting and briefing t ensure that current conditions are safe, and that procedures are appropriately adjusted to minimize the chances of a recurrence at any of our four railroad crossings, or elsewhere,” Higgins wrote. He said on Tuesday that he expected to speak with Keolis and the MBTA that afternoon to schedule the meeting with him and Kennedy.

Higgins also asked to review data on gate failures (failing to activate and/or becoming stuck in the horizontal position) at all four track crossings in Lincoln. The most recent report of gates being stuck in the “down” position came on March 28, according to the Lincoln police log.

On January 21, a woman driving across railroad tracks in Wilmington was struck and killed by a commuter train. MBTA officials said human error — failure to return the crossing safety system to normal operations after testing — likely prevented the crossing gates from coming down in a timely manner as the train approached.

According to a report by WBUR, the MBTA and Keolis said they had retrained staff responsible for testing railroad crossing protection systems and instituted several other new safety practices. The new policies required additional communication, observation, and signage at roadway crossings to ensure crossing gates don’t fail to activate after testing and maintenance work.