An 11kV overhead electricity cable used to cross the railway at this location. This 'cable catcher' was erected to protect the railway equipment if the live power cable ever snapped.
The structure was electrically earthed and, if a live cable fell onto it, the circuit breakers on the electricity power circuit would trip, thus cutting off the 11kV supply. This would make the fallen cable electrically safe, although the fallen cable might still be a potentially hazardous obstruction for passing trains. To reduce the risk of this, there would normally be one of these structures on each side of the railway formation. However, that does not seem to have been the case here (possibly due to a lack of space and / or the transition from fill to cut).
