Motorists faced disruption in a north-east town after a level crossing barrier became stuck for the second time in the space of a week.
Cars piled up at Bridge Road, Kintore after a barrier failed to lift at the railway line.
Dozens of vehicles were trapped on either side of the crossing waiting for the red light to change for close to an hour.
A Stagecoach Bus was also among the traffic that began to build up at the train track.
It was the second time recently the problem had arisen with the crossing, with motorists also stuck for roughly the same period last Monday.
East Garioch councillor Fergus Hood was one of the people whose journey was disrupted.
He said: “A number of people were tempted to try and get across round the side of the barrier, but I warned them not to because it’s a fine and it’s also dangerous.
“I’m not saying anyone tried it, but they were certainly getting frustrated and talking about doing it.
“A few of them had said there had been problems over the last week as well, so I hope Network Rail takes a proper look at the problem.
“There were between eight and 12 cars on either side when I was there, as well as a bus, so I assume there must have been disruption to bus timetables too.”
The barrier eventually lifted about 50 minutes later and the light changed to green after a train passed by.
Network Rail sent out engineers yesterday and were working to try and find out what had caused the fault on both occasions.
A spokesman said: “The problem has now been rectified, the barrier had remained fixed in place after a train had passed.
“The fault occurred at about 2.55pm and engineers were out at the site by 3.30pm.
“The problem was fixed by 3.50pm. The engineers are now working to determine what caused the fault.”
