Left out in the dark
RAIB investigation highlights the importance of lighting and vigilance when working at night.
At around 05.40 on 4 March 2024, a passenger train struck a section of redundant rail that had been left foul of the line near Walton-on-Thames. At the time of the collision, it had been doing about 85 mph. There were no reported injuries.
The rail had been left there by a team that had completed work in the area the weekend before. No person in charge had supervised the work, and a track handback engineer had not been properly briefed as to what had been done before they made their inspection. As a result, the rail was not found and remained foul of the line when the railway was handed back to the signaller.
RAIB found that the arrangements in place for planning and delivering the work did not effectively manage the risk of a section of rail being left foul of the running line. It also found that the process for inspecting the railway after the work was completed did not provide staff with clear guidance on which areas should be checked. RAIB also found that the relevant rules and standards did not clearly define the roles and responsibilities required to safely deliver work on complex worksites like the one involved in the accident.
As a result of its investigation, RAIB made two recommendations. The first is addressed to the infrastructure manager and contractor involved to review its processes related to collecting redundant material when working on or near the line. The second is addressed to Network Rail (in consultation with the RSSB) to review the rules and standards relating to how tasks delivered in complex worksites should be managed.
Since the incident, Network Rail has worked with contractors to develop a process to make sure inspections are completed within stated timescales to avoid redundant material (like pieces of rail) being left on site for too long after completion of renewal work. It has, among other actions, also taken steps to ensure that staff undertaking the role of person in charge are present on site to supervise and oversee work.
Image credit: RAIB
It is critical that adequate site lighting is provided when work is planned to be done in darkness. This is particularly important for locations where there is a higher risk of objects, including redundant material and tools, being left and subsequently posing a risk to trains, such as access points.
It is also critical that anyone working on the line keeps vigilant at all times, especially at the end of works. Always challenge and report anything that doesn’t seem right.