"In recent years we have reassessed all of our 6,500 level crossings and closed over 500.
And while local people along the route fear for their links, these counties have also seen some of the most notorious incidents at level crossings – at Elsenham in Essex and Beccles in Suffolk.
Network Rail is scarred by courtroom verdicts of neglect and breaches of health and safety after it allowed crossings to remain open even though the risks were apparent, and shoulders blame for the deaths of Olivia Bazlinton, 14, and Charlotte Thompson, 13, at Elsenham in 2005.
Bullock is one of about 100 managers appointed by Network Rail since 2010, with the job of eliminating as many risky level crossings as possible.
"If they closed the crossings, it would be impossible, an hour and a half.
But spring and summer are peak seasons for crossings by other means.
Inntravel (01653 629010) has two nights' half-board at the Ferme du Vert, 17 miles from Calais, for £152pp including crossings for car and passengers.
Human Rights Watch calls on the UN refugee agency to report publicly on which border crossings are closed and how many Syrians are stuck inside Syria as a result.
They could head to Zeeland, Holland, with daily crossings between Harwich and the Hook of Holland on Stena Line (08705 707070; stenaline.co.uk) from just £59 for one car and two adult passengers one way.
In 2012, for example, many more migrants entered using land crossings into Greece and Bulgaria, the so-called eastern Mediterranean route, whereas in 2009 the most numbers arrived via Kosovo and Albania.
'Brittany Ferries (0871 244 1400; brittanyferries.co.uk) offers 14-night villa breaks on the northern coast of Spain from £1,740 providing easy access to both the countryside and the coast, including return crossings from Plymouth to Santander for two adults, one car and a two-year-old child with a four-berth cabin suite each way.
