Following the death of her daughter, Olivia, on a level crossing in 2005, Tina Hughes become involved in level crossing safety. She fought for many years to prove that Olivia and her friend, Charlie were not reckless 14 year old girls who ignored the warnings, but rather that the warnings were inadequate. Documents were later discovered that showed Network Rail knew about the dangers of this crossing and they were prosecuted by the Office of Rail Regulation and fined in 2012 for their negligence, which led to Olivia and Charlie’s deaths.

Tina was recruited by Sir David Higgins, then CEO of Network Rail, as level crossing user champion and worked with him and the newly formed level crossing team to support the drive to make level crossing safety the top priority and to help Network Rail improve their risk management practices.

Tina has been involved in supporting the level crossing team by speaking to a wide variety of stakeholders in both Network Rail and the wider rail industry about the lessons that can be learned from her personal tragedy and how these lessons can lead to a safer railway. She has spoken extensively in the UK, but also in Europe and at the United Nations.

Tina was awarded an MBE in the 2014 Birthday Honours List for her work to improve safety on our railways.

Tina can be contacted at tina.hughes@atkinsglobal.com or tinaineson@hotmail.com and writes about her experiences on her website www.levelcrossingsafety.com