A LONG ROCK railway crossing on which a grandmother was killed when she was struck by a train last October will close tomorrow.
Cornwall Council will enforce an emergency closure request from Network Rail which will keep the crossing closed until a decision is made on how to improve its safety or to close it.
A petition was started in the village this week to keep Mexico footcrossing open after Network Rail supported a coroner's recommendation to close it following an inquest in to the death of Jeannette Nicholls.
The 73-year-old grandmother was killed when she was struck by a train heading to Penzance last year.
Hers was the second death on the crossing and followed five near misses and two other incidents to have occurred on it since 2007.
A Cornwall Council spokeswoman said a temporary diversion, which takes walkers 200m to a level crossing west of the footpath, has been put in place.
She said: "The closure will remain in effect pending an examination of all options to make the crossing safe including the option of closure."
A spokesman for Network Rail said: "Following the coroner's recommendation for the Mexico footpath crossing to close, we requested an emergency closure and are pleased that this will be implemented.
"Network Rail is committed to improving safety at level crossings and closure is always our preferred option. We would like to make this closure permanent as soon as possible."
The petition is the second associated with the crossing after one was started last year by Mrs Nicholls' granddaughter Jodie Farmer to close it.
Network Rail has closed 600 rail crossings since 2009.
