A dog was killed on Brighton beach this morning after it was electrocuted by a live track on the Volks Railway.
It’s not clear how the dog – believed to be a German shepherd or similar – got onto the tracks.
The incident happened at about 12.30pm, close to the Pier Station. The owner of the dog was seen holding their pet and crying. They then left the area.
A council spokesperson said: “We’re very sad to confirm that a dog was killed on the Volk’s Railway today.
“Our understanding is that it was electrocuted on the live rail while off its lead.
“We believe this was simply a tragic accident, and have no reason to believe the railway’s equipment or staff were in any way at fault.
“We understand the dog’s owner is very distressed and our hearts go out to them.
“We have started an investigation to look into what, if anything, might be done to prevent similar accidents in future.”
The trains haven’t run since the season ended, why is the power still on?
good question: testing maintenance of the electrical meter?
They do engineering work and need to test trains and track through the winter.
Would never have happened if the dog had been kept on a lead.
If only this could have been prevented by being a responsible dog owner
Isn’t the voltage as low as 110volts?
And as others have asked, why is the power on when no services are operating?
Old expression
It’s the volts that jolt, but the mils (milliamps) that kill
I’m confused. Surely if it can kill a German shepherd it can kill a child. So a massive safety concern. Also, as per other comments, surely it would not have made a difference if the dog was on a lead or not, unless it was able to access somewhere that humans wouldn’t be able to go. Some unanswered questions in this story.
Same logic could be applied to third rails on regular train tracks, “what if a child jumped onto a train track, it’s right there! It’s so dangerous!” yes. It’s a railway, If they’re not treat with the proper respect which they require, people will get hurt. Same with roads which kill god knows however many more children per year than rail.
Except this isn’t a standard rail system, it’s very easily accessible, you actually have to cross the tracks to get on the beach. You could easily think that it was not a railway at all or think it’s just a toy railway. It’s not running in the winter. I noticed the warning lights were flashing that day, and the shed was open at Banjo groyne, but the lights are not that prominent and could easily be mistaken or missed – iI noticed the lights were not activated at some crossings. It most definitely is a safety issue and needs much better signage and barriers like an actual railway.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but the Volks railway is much more accessible than other rail lines – it has several well-used footway crossing points. Most other rail lines are not easily accessible in this way.
…which may be a good point of entry to consider development to minimise the risk.
None of the crossings points have live rails so if your stupid enough to let your child play on a train line or indeed decide to leave the crossing and walk along the tracks you only have yourself to blame. Dangerous, yes it’s a railway line, how many signs does it take… Don’t play on it and take some responsibility.
The dog getting killed is tragic, but it should have been on a lead, no doubt the poor owner will have that with them for a long time.
Tens of thousands of people cross the tracks every year at the designated crossing points to get to / from the beach
The 3rd rail is discontinued at the crossing points so safe to cross.
If you venture off the designated crossing points then you are at risk of electrocution if you step on the 3rd rail.
Dangerous fallacy – that if something is done lots of times without incident then there is no safety risk. This shows clearly that there is a risk and if a large dog can be electrocuted then children and other smaller animals can be too. This railway has much lower protection than other local railway lines – just look at the low fence. It also is right next to a popular beach with far more people. So even if low risk, there’s a lot of access so likely to happen again. Needs full investigation and likely better safety gates/access/signs as a minimum
When was the last time something like this happened?
Stay on the official crossing point and you’re perfectly safe. Surely that’s not a hard concept to understand?
The dog was electrocuted because its carer didn’t take care of it.
Sanctimonious arse.
You really don’t understand risk or risk management do you? Or indeed show much compassion.
I think you’ll find that if a child had done similar then the railway and others could be facing criminal charges. There are areas from the beach without a gate onto a live electric line. Live even (apparently) months before trains are running. So people were not seeing this as a risk. A dog, or a child, could walk or run from the beach (where they are free to run) and be electrocuted. No gate to stop them in a number of places. All could be made safer with a gate for a few hundred pounds.
The railway will be making improvements or face huge PR and legal issues I predict. We have a right, even with a historic railway, to have modern safety. Suitable fences/barriers. Gates that are there and work. Ideally update the electrical supply so that the live rail doesn’t have the ability to kill (we have safety RCDs in homes/businesses, why not similar here?)
Just because you don’t like what Chris has said, doesn’t make him incorrect on this point.
Nick, question. Why would you climb over a fence that’s beside a railway line? Are you mental?
Red lights are on when the track is live.
I don’t believe dogs can see red, can they?
Shame on you Blatchbert and Bertie Bassett. To attempt to apportion blame to the owner of this dog who died in such a tragic way is disgusting. Her heart will be already broken without nasty people like you trying to make her feel responsible for what happened. I often walk my dogs off-lead on Kemp Town beach out of season, just like many others. This could easily have happened to my dogs the many times as we crossed those tracks, and I’ve never given it a moment’s thought as there are no warnings at the crossing points. The fact that this could happen to a dog is unthinkable – it suggests that it could’ve easily been a child. How awful of you both.
It’s perfectly reasonable to establish blame on the owner for failing to maintain control of their animal entering a dangerous area. You might not like it, but that’s irrelevant. However, I agree that it would also be reasonable to work on improving safeguards to prevent it from happening again.
WHAT exactly is telling the dog owner that their dogs are entering ‘a dangerous area’??! I’ve been living in B&H and walking my dogs around Kemp Town beach for almost 20 years and there are no signs or warnings indicating that crossing those tracks are potentially hazardous. I’ve crossed those tracks so many times and it could’ve been a person stepping on that live rail.
The live rails don’t run where the crossing points are. The stop short and then start again the other side.
That’s why you and countless others haven’t been electrocuted!
Stay on the crossing point and you and your mutt are perfectly safe. Venture off and you aren’t.
I have walked along the length of those tracks before during the season when the railway is closed down. It’s not supposed to resume until after Easter! WHY has this happened in January??? This should not have happened – stop making ridiculous excuses. There is absolutely NO indication currently that the tracks may be currently live.
Yes, there are, Karen. Sounds like for 20 years, you haven’t been paying attention. Explain your Darwinism towards train tracks. Please don’t walk on the train tracks. That’s stupid. Really stupid.
Nick, question. Why would you climb over a fence that’s beside a railway line? Are you mental?
Karenina, there is a sign on every single crossing saying it’s a live railway. Being the oldest electric railway in the world might point to the fact it runs on electricity…
Why would you walk down a railway track, time to get real. Dog owners, parents ect are responsible for their animals/ siblings. If you can’t understand the basics of how a railway crossing works and that trains can kill maybe you need to check in with the reception class at a local scooter. They can start you off on the basics (don’t walk on railways, it will kill)…
Oh yes how callous we are. Shame on us indeed.
I bet you’ll keep your dog on it’s lead next time you’re near the railway tracks though won’t you.
I don’t think you’re wrong there. Talks a good game, but when it comes down to it, she’s going to be extra careful from now on. Mission accomplished, I suppose.
Very well put. I’d add Dave to the list of people being called out here. Comments like ‘if you are stupid enough to… you only have yourself to blame” at this stage when so little is known are frankly ridiculous.
You lot should really check yourselves.
It is a railway line all year round. The warning signs are there all year long. Trespass on a railway is always dangerous. On top of that there are red lights at the crossings that are on when the track is live. What more can be done?
Gates
Nick. It has gates, with big signs and flashing lights lol. If that’s to much to grasp as a warning, do our NHS a favour and don’t leave the house, you’ll be shocked to learn we have vehicles called cars and trucks and they run on roads which have no fences or gates at crossings points, worst of all they are not on steel tracks so can be unpredictable… Wow man
Some crossing points at Volks have gates etc some don’t. Look on google maps if you don’t believe me.
Cars and trains move. Exposed live electricity is far more dangerous as it doesn’t look dangerous. So much so that exposed live electrical points are illegal in homes, workplaces etc. Yet allowed on Brighton seafront.
The key thing is not my safety. I can read signs. It is those more vulnerable. Those who can’t read (young children, dogs, other animals) and those who are otherwise at risk (eg. drunk or on drugs – and that certainly happens on Brighton beach). As we’ve seen in comments here, adults walk along track when railway not running and didn’t know the risk….
So I’m glad you agree that all entrances to the railway need gates as well as big signs and flashing lights! Let’s hope we see this soon as well as other improvements that any investigation should find
It was a golden retriever, and from what I know of the circumstances, neither the owner nor the dog were to blame. The dog was well-behaved, and the whole thing was a freak accident. The owner is devastated and is being forced to try making statements, when what they actually need is time to grieve. I am aware of various details about it, but you should be waiting for the owner to speak in their own time, not jumping to conclusions.
The biggest question is why the rail was live, and what signs/other safety measures were in place or not.
This could have happened to a child, and could still happen to a child or another dog.
The focus should be on ensuring more safety measures around this location.
Is walking across Volks Railway at a designated crossing any more dangerous than walking across a level crossing on National Rail apart from the pedestrian’s perception of risk. Modern level crossings no longer have gates to prevent trespass onto the tracks.
we really do need an investigation and see what can be done to prevent anything similar to humans or animals
All of the mainline railway crossings that I have ever seen have gates between them and the land around them. That isn’t the case with all the crossings along the line at Volks (look at google maps and you’ll see further east just gaps). That might be OK next to the road (although not ideal) but I don’t think it should be like that from the beach. The beach is where children and dogs run around and play. Adults may drink. There should be a gate to all the crossing points surely? Would help keep everyone safe
There may be other safety changes possible. Such as whether the current needs to be on all the track when trains aren’t running. I can’t understand why it was – it is using energy to do this. If needed for a certain area where people are working on trains, then why not just that area? Safer and more environmentally friendly.
Hopefully, an investigation will look at these and other issues. Long-term residents are seemingly unaware of the dangers – despite crossing thousands of times. How would tourists do? We should look at this tragedy as an opportunity to make things safer for us all.
Can you tell me where are the gates preventing access from the level crossing roadway to the railway tracks when the barriers are up at Portslade, two sites at Shoreham, Lancing and two crossings in Worthing all of which I believe to be typical of crossings Nationwide?
yes – but you are going from an area of danger (a road) to another area of danger (a railway line). So anyone with caring responsibilities (eg. child, dog) would be alert for risks
At Volks the situation is different for a number of the crossings. Look on google maps. There you are in an area of social meeting and fun – Brighton beach. Encouraged to run, enjoy, drink etc. There is no gate/barrier in some locations between the beach and the Volks crossing/line. Just a hole in a fence (and the fence itself is very low compared to national railways). Amazingly, you could have a dog or child able to run from a beach to a live, potentially fatal, exposed electrical line without any gates or barriers. The fact it’s been like that for years doesn’t make it acceptable.
To fix things like this isn’t difficult – probably self-closing gates. As too fence height. There are red lights on crossing points – but it’s clear that people don’t know what these mean. So some signposts. After all, red means stop. But here it doesn’t, it means danger along the line but not crossing it (but the lights are at the crossings!)
If you were trying to build another railway now, say from the pier to Hove, you wouldn’t be allowed a safety design like this. I appreciate that it is a historical railway, but there look to be simple steps that could make it safer for all.
Hopefully, an investigation will be carried out promptly and results published/actions before this summer season
Red lights were off today as the current was not switched on. Safe to say that I have only ever seen the lights on when the train is running or being tested out of season. I walk that way 3-4 times a week and this has always been the case.
I will also observe that there have been many improvements to the volks track over the last four years with improved fencing, crossing gates and warning signs.
Volks Railway is historic and works the way it does under Grandfather Rights. Hence no continuous air brakes on tgectrains and no gates at many of the foot crossings. The voltage is 110v DC with the live rail gaps through the crossings. There are wooden ‘cattle grids’ to stop anyone straying on to the track so how the dog came into contact with the juice rail I don’t know. The juice being on would likely have been to do with either maintenance or more likely driver training. I do believe the railway operates (or used to operate) a diesel locomotive for maintenance trains.
The council should be held responsible for killing the dog. My children visit the beach and are off lead. It could have easily been a chilled that was killed. Action should be taken!