FREETOWN — On the second day of Southcoast Rail MBTA service, a Freetown-Lakeville school bus was struck by a crossing arm at a railroad track on Braley Road in Freetown.

No injuries were reported, Acting Superintendent of Schools John Higgins told the Freetown-Lakeville School Committee at its March 26 meeting.

Bus 17 was bringing home middle and high school students when it reached the Braley Road railroad crossing, Higgins said. 

The driver followed “standard safety procedures,’’ came to a “complete stop,’’ he said, and stopped to check for oncoming trains.

Higgins added that the line of sight at the crossing is “significantly limited’’ due to trees and brush.

“After determining it was safe to proceed, through visual and auditory checking, the driver began to move forward,”  Higgins said. “As the bus began to move forward but before it reached the track, the bells and lights engaged at the crossing and the driver immediately stopped.”

The bus driver made sure it was safe to back up, and when the driver put the vehicle into reverse, the “safety arm engaged and contacted the top of the bus.’’ 

The train passed about 45 seconds later, Higgins said.

Counselors were available at school the next day to check for any physical or emotional impacts of students who were involved, Higgins said.

In the wake of the incident, the school district is considering putting monitors on buses that cross the tracks, Higgins told committee members. That monitor would get off the bus, ensure that no trains were oncoming and then return to the bus.

Fourteen of the district’s 24 bus routes cross tracks now used by commuter rail at some point during the school day, he said. 

Lakeville Fire Department has offered to provide safety training. The MBTA also has a Safety First program that provides education for young drivers, such as those at the high school, as the commuter rail now moves through the towns, he said.

The district has been in touch with the MBTA about concerns about lines of sight, Higgins stated. 

The bus company will also be instituting daily check-ins with the district, Higgins noted, “to ensure appropriate communication.’’

Town administrators of both Lakeville and Freetown have reached out to the district, Higgins said, “to discuss the issue and make sure something like this never happens again.’’