Sorry, this video asset has been removed.

Watch: Andrew Start's
footage of the moving rail and railway sleepers at Sturry.

by Adam Williams

awilliams@thekmgroup.co.uk

Cracks in a railway sleeper are giving a Sturry man sleepless
nights as he fears it's only a matter of time before a train
disaster.

Andrew Start, whose Island Road house backs on to the line, has
filmed hours of footage of a shifting rail as high-speed trains
bound for Thanet whizz by.

The 56-year-old, who has lived next to the foot crossing for 11
years, fears engineers are dragging their heels to fix the
problem.

He said: “The problem is what they call 'a wet bed’, where
moisture has got underneath the sleepers and the ground around it
becomes saturated.

“I’ve filmed trains coming through on my video camera for the
past few months and have been telling Network Rail about the
problem since last June. But they’ve given me no indication when
they might be coming out to fix it.”

Andrew (pictured above) believes a cracked upstairs window
pane and slipped roof tiles into the guttering at his house, half a
mile from Sturry railway station, have been indirectly caused by
the added vibrations from the bouncing rails.

He added: “Problems are worse for my next door neighbour, Janet
Beverley.

"She has ornaments falling off her shelves when trains pass by,
the brickworkon her wall has bowed and she also has tiles falling
off the roof.

"Neither of us have a problem living next to the railway. For
the most part trains are really quiet and you hardly notice
them.

“I’m no expert, but seeing trains passing over it at around
80mph and the rail and the sleepers visibly dipping can’t be
good.”

Network Rail apologised for the delay in carrying out the
sleeper repairs, but admitted Andrew and Janet’s concerns have been
noted.

Spokesman Gary Gaskarth said: “We are aware of the concerns of
our line-side neighbours in Sturry and are looking into them in
more detail.

“We take seriously anything which could pose a safety risk for
passengers or is potentially causing damage to neighbouring
property, and if an issue is found we will take steps to rectify it
as quickly as possible.”

Network Rail will be upgrading Sturry level crossing later this
month with buses replacing trains between Canterbury West and
Ramsgate between 2am on Saturday, March 10 and 4am on Monday, March
12.

More information on service alterations is available
onwww.nationalrail.co.uk