Colin Wheeler
I remain of the belief that our railways would benefit from closer cooperative and communication between working, as well as listening to and working regularly on and in specific railway areas. When I joined British Rail as a trainee working, mechanised maintenance was being introduced and I recall seeing the very first tamping machine on site.
New methods of working were often developed but were discussed with local workforce representatives. Dummy runs of new working methods were organised and changes discussed in the local British Railways Staff Association club. Management did not always agree, but we settled our differences for the benefit of all. Trades Unions, local safety representatives, and individual engineers and supervisors/inspectors all contributed to the introduction of improved working. Overall, the system worked well.
Tallerddig train collision
It would be remiss of me not to begin with the terrible news of the collision at Tallerdigg, Powys, which resulted in the death of a passenger and four others seriously injured.
The accident occurred at around 19:26 hours on 21 October and the RAIB announced its investigation on 5 November. A Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth train collided head on with the 19:09 Machynlleth to Shrewsbury service on the Cambrian Line approximately 900 metres west of the passing loop at Tallerddig. One passenger died, four were seriously injured, and 11 others needed hospital treatment. Although neither train derailed, significant damage was caused to the leading vehicles of both trains. Both trains were two-car Class 158 diesel multiple units and fitted with both wheel slide protection systems and an automatic sanding system. The railway is a single track on the approach to Tallerddig with a passing loop.
RAIB’s investigation has included a preliminary examination that resulted in “conflicting evidence of the trains at the point of collision”. The west bound train was due to stop in the loop to allow the east bound train to pass. Service and emergency braking of the west bound train was applied as the loop was approached but wheel slide started during the service braking and was constant through the braking. RAIB found that the sanding hoses on the leading vehicle were blocked and unable to discharge sand. RAIB are also considering the policies of both Transport for Wales and Network Rail in respect of the management of low adhesion risks on the Cambrian Line.
Radio failure results in collision
An accident in Kent on 16 November 2023 is the subject of a recently published RAIB report 11/2024. At 04:15 that morning, an on-track machine operator was injured while coupling a Multiple Purpose Vehicle (MPV) to a tamper on the HS1 railway near Strood. A tamper was moved when a second MPV driven towards it collided at about 12mph. The MPV was being moved to the tamper so that all three machines could be coupled together at the end of the night shift.
The investigation revealed that “it had become normal practice for the coupling operation to be undertaken with the tamper at the other end”. The method of working was for the approaching vehicle to come to a stand at a holding point 50 or 100 metres away from the two stationary vehicles, the final movement then being made by the driver responsible for the coupling.
That day, however, the driver of the propelling second MPV did not have a view of the railway in the direction of travel so was “reliant on radio messages from a machine controller at the rear advising when to slow or stop the vehicle”. That night, the radio used by the controller had an “intermittent fault”, leading to a breakdown in communication with the driver. Neither driver nor controller knew when communication was lost. Subsequently, the machine controller realised the radio was not working and alerted the driver to brake by shouting a warning. Unfortunately it was too late, and the collision was the result.
The radio did not transmit a continuous “confidence tone” but it was normal practice for controllers to communicate constantly during transit moves. The MPVs had no facility for controllers riding the rear deck to brake the vehicle “despite an internal recommendation to fit one after a previous similar incident in 2021”. HS1 has the concession to operate, but “did not identify that the recommendation to fit a braking facility had been closed with no action taken.”
Subsequently, the MPV fleet has been fitted with emergency stop buttons adjacent to the rear deck and a secure communications system. A rearwards facing camera is also being fitted.
Could or should management have been listening more closely to on track concerns?
Urgent safety advice
At 11:25 on the morning of 6 September a loaded freight train derailed on a way-beamed bridge at Audenshaw. The train involved was made up of two Class 66 locomotives hauling 24 wagons loaded with aggregate. The first 10 wagons passed safely over the bridge but the next nine derailed and came to a stand.
On 24 October, RAIB issued an urgent safety advice titled ‘Derailments on bridges with longitudinal timbers’. It advises that “existing inspection and maintenance regimes may not be sufficient to detect the failure of baseplate chair screws”. The derailment happened on a 480-metre radius curve with a cant of 40mm. Rails were supported on PAN M6 baseplates each held on the timbers by just two LSA chair screws. RAIB has recovered 13 failed chair screws from the low side baseplates. None were marked ‘HT’ which would indicate high strength screws. A freight train derailment at Sheffield on 11 November 2020 revealed that broken screw resistance to rotation or removal made the identification of impending gauge widening difficult.
The investigation into the Audenshaw derailment continues.
Isle of Wight collision
Also on 24 October, RAIB released Report 12/2024 following its investigation of a collision on 22 November 2023 between a road/rail vehicle and a trolley near Brading on the Isle of Wight.
At around 01:50 hours the road/rail vehicle was being used to clear vegetation and was travelling between locations on a descending gradient. The group realised that the vehicle was not stopping. Tools and equipment were then removed from the trolley, and it was removed from the track. “Inadvertently the trolley was left too close to the track and was foul of the path of the road/rail vehicle,” says the report. The road railer collided with the trolley and two members of the group were struck on the legs and pushed onto the trackside receiving minor injuries.
The Controller of Site Safety (COSS) had not been told of the approaching road/rail vehicle before it appeared. It had been unable to stop in the available distance.
The report says the Island Line infrastructure manager “did not have an effective process for planning and managing the risk of on track plant movements” and that South Western Railway’s assurance processes “had had not identified informal working arrangements in possessions.”
The three recommendations cover reviewing safety management processes for maintenance work, and the provision of accurate information to maintenance staff and contractors. Learning points identified include the importance of applying codes of practice in the event of an accident or incident, promptly reporting accidents to RAIB, and the importance of process and procedures when dealing with an accident or incident, as well as evidence collection and testing.
Over speeding near Manor Park Station
On 31 October, RAIB published details of this over speeding incident that occurred at around 08:11 on 24 September, where a passenger train passed over a set of points at 45mph. The permitted maximum speed through them is just 25mph. As a result, the train jolted sideways causing some passengers to fall over but the train did not derail.
RAIB has decided to issue a Safety Digest.
The Future of rail
The establishment of Great British Railways (GBR) during the 200th anniversary year of the Stockton to Darlington Railway should be welcomed and used to spur on development both passenger and freight services. Better time keeping, increased passenger and freight traffic, and reduced accidents and incidents, should all be key targets.
Political changes and the potential abandonment of commercial rail operating companies, together with the organisational changes to establish GBR, will be a great opportunity to improve all forms of rail guided transport and will benefit the fight against climate change. But the road may not be a straight one, as we’ve already seen with the resignation of Transport Minister Louise Haigh. Her successor would be well advised to look back as well as forward when determining how our railways work best in future.
Meanwhile, the industry will soldier on as ever.
Image credit: RAIB
