Meerkats to the rescue

VICTORIAN-ERA whistle-boards are to be replaced by high-tech devices to stop people getting hit by trains.

Boards on the side of rail lines marked with ‘W’ mark the point where a train driver should blow a whistle to alert people up the line about an oncoming train.

Engineer Costain has been hired by Network Rail to provide a better system. Its Meerkat devices, named after the cautious animal, will detect an oncoming train then make warning sounds and signs to warn people to get off the track.

Costain and Network Rail are developing the technology, with the first units expected to be installed within the next 12 months.

Around five people a year die at level crossings.