Rail safety investigators were this morning attempting to establish how a nun drove her car into the path of a passenger train at a manually-operated level crossing in Limerick.
The crossing, at Woodfarm, near Dromkeen, was the scene of a near fatal crash between a container lorry and a train three years ago. Concerns were expressed recently over safety at the crossing when it emerged that motorists were regularly failing to close the barriers after driving over the track.
It is unclear if the barriers had been left open at the time of yesterday's tragedy, but the possibility is being investigated by Iarnrod Éireann safety officers.
The hand-operated level crossing is one of 200 across rural Ireland. The last recorded fatality at a manual crossing occurred in Roscommon in 1997. A young woman was killed when she drove her car into the path of an oncoming train on the Westport line.
Yesterday's accident happened on a straight stretch of track which afforded a clear view for several thousand yards in each direction. The train, bound for Limerick Junction, was travelling at 70 m.p.h. Its safe breaking distance was 500 yards.
An Iarnród Éireann spokesman said it was extremely unlikely the victim could have failed to see the train if she had stopped to look.
The company last night reaffirmed its belief that manual crossings were fundamentally safe.
The spokesman said: "Great effort has been put into making the crossings as visible as possible. They have been operating successfully across the country with very little mishap. This contrasts with the situation in other countries. There were 15 deaths at rail crossings in Norway last year."
But fears over safety at Woodfarm led Iarnród Éireann to earmark the crossing for upgrading to an overbridge four years ago.
However the company has been unable to acquire the property necessary to construct a bridge.