The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has opened an investigation into a collision earlier this month between a train and a delivery van at a user-worked level crossing in Kent.

The collision occurred at about 12:42 on Sunday, 13th July 2025, when a passenger train struck a delivery van at a user-worked level crossing at Bax between Sittingbourne and Teynham in Kent. The driver of the van suffered fatal injuries as a result of the collision.

The level crossing at Bax has gates on either side of the railway, which road users manually operate to open.

Signage at the crossing provides users with instructions on how to use the crossing, and a miniature stop light system supplements the user signs.

The miniature stop light system shows a green light to users when it is considered safe for them to cross the railway, which changes to a red light as trains approach the crossing; the red light is also accompanied by audible alarms.

Telephones are provided at the crossing to enable users crossing the railway with large or slow-moving vehicles, or animals, to contact the signaller to receive permission to cross the line.

The RAIB investigation will look at the sequence of events leading to the accident, and will consider:

• What were the actions of those involved, and were there any factors that may have influenced them?
• Is there a record of any previous incidents at this crossing, and if so, could they be relevant to this accident?
• What is the management of risk at this crossing, and what is Network Rail’s wider strategy for assessing and mitigating risks at user-worked crossings?
• Are there any relevant underlying factors at this crossing?

The RAIB investigation is independent of any investigation by the railway industry or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road. At the conclusion of the RAIB investigation, it will publish its findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, and make them available on its website.

Other recent investigations by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch include one into a collision between a train and a road vehicle at a level crossing at Redcar in North Yorkshire, and a fatal collision between a pedestrian and a train at Pewsey in Wiltshire.