Village where some need permission to drive over rail crossing

Surrey is well-known for its beautiful array of villages but not many of them are lucky enough to have train stations. This is not the case for Milford, based around three miles southwest of Godalming ^[1], where its small but well-connected station can get you to London Waterloo in under an hour.

While analytics data found the village to be one of the most lusted-after ^[2] in the whole country, such connections do come at a slight cost. This is in the form of the Milford level crossing which controls traffic on Station Lane towards the east of the village.

While a level crossing usually just means a hold-up while a train ^[3] goes on its merry way, things are a little bit different here. As you approach the level crossing you might notice a blue sign which contains a very important message for drivers of larger vehicles.

It reads: “Drivers of LARGE or SLOW vehicles must phone and get permission to cross. Park here and use a phone at crossing. In this case large means a vehicle ^[4] which is over 18.75 metres long or more than 2.9 metres wide while slow means a vehicle travelling at 5 mph or less.”

Milford rail crossing sign
The same sign is located on both sides of the level crossing (Image: Google)

Already carrying a heavy load through country roads means a driver would probably be stressed enough, but it means they have to park their vehicle on the narrow street and walk up to the crossing. There they’ll find a yellow phone with the words SOS on it where you can make a call to get across.

The Highway Code contains more information on why lorry drivers have to call ahead. Rule 294 states ^[6] a train might arrive while a large or slow-moving vehicle has not yet cleared the crossing and therefore permission must be sought to make sure there is enough of a gap. It also clearly states all drivers must do this if told to by any sign, such as in the case at Milford.

So if you see a lorry plonked in the middle of a road just before a rail crossing in rural Surrey ^[7], you know the reason why. A bit of patience is necessary due to these quirky set of rules.

References

^{^} Godalming (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} most lusted-after (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} train (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} vehicle (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} The little Surrey village people are lusting after that is ‘better value for money’ (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} Rule 294 states (www.gov.uk)
^{^} Surrey (www.getsurrey.co.uk)