Network Rail admits safety failings over level crossing deaths

Network Rail admits safety breaches six years after two schoolgirls were killed at crossing at Elsenham station in EssexNetwork Rail has admitted safety failings at a level crossing where two teenage girls were killed more than six years ago, saying it will plead guilty to three breaches of health and safety laws and promising to press on with checks on thousands of other crossings.Olivia Bazlinton, 14, and Charlotte Thompson, 13, were hit by a train in 2005 as they crossed the tracks at Elsenham station footpath crossing in Essex. The prosecution by the Office for Rail Regulation (ORR) came after it reopened its investigation into the accident following pressure from the girls' families and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association. They demanded a public inquiry amid claims two safety documents were not disclosed to the Essex coroner at the 2007 inquest into the deaths.Magistrates in Basildon on Tuesday committed Network Rail for sentencing at Chelmsford crown court in March after pr