Train hits crossing in east England

One person was injured when a two-car passenger train carrying 80 people struck a level crossing barrier in Lincolnshire, eastern England yesterday, police said.

The collision - just nine days after a major crash at a rail crossing in southern England killed seven people - involved the 8.04 a.m. Lincoln to Peterborough train.

"It would seem at this stage that there is only one casualty, a man with some lacerations to his head," a police spokesman said. "I can confirm that there were some school children on the train."

A spokesman for Central Trains said the train remained upright on the tracks after the crash. Central Trains is owned by National Express Group Plc.

A police spokesman said the train struck a gate at a level crossing near the village of Kirkby Green.

"It doesn't seem at the moment that it's a particularly serious incident but it's very early days," he said.

Earlier this month, a high-speed train carrying 300 passengers slammed into a car parked on a level crossing near Reading, southern England. The seven deaths included the car driver.

Police say that crash may have been caused by the car driver trying to commit suicide.