NEAR MISS NEAR WESTON-SUPER-MARE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: june 2022 :: RMTnews 17 Following a near miss with track workers and a collision with a tree on the line at Uphill Junction, near Weston-super- Mare, Somerset on January 14 this year the Rail Accident Investigation re-iterated a number of important lessons. This incident demonstrated the importance of staff undertaking vegetation management in the vicinity of railway lines being aware of the risks that the felling or trimming of trees may pose to trains and ensuring that any required control measures are implemented. Those responsible for leading teams working within the railway boundary must also ensure that they effectively control their team’s activities and implement and maintain the required control measures both in normal and unexpected circumstances. Organisations working within the railway boundary must clearly communicate an appropriate and safe method of work to staff carrying out work which may affect the safety of the line. The track workers, who were undertaking de- vegetation work, had previously felled the tree on the slope of the cutting next to the railway, before it unexpectedly dropped into the cess. They immediately followed the tree down the slope and into the cess with the intention of moving it to a safe area. Once they reached the cess, they were in a position close to the adjacent open line without any protection from moving trains in place. While attempting to position the tree to allow for easier removal, they entered the space between the rails (an area known as the four- foot) and pulled the tree across the open line. The train was travelling near to the 100 mph maximum permitted line speed when the driver observed track workers on the line ahead. The driver sounded the train’s horn approximately 10 seconds before reaching the track workers with the expectation that they would move to a position of safety, where it would be safe to stand as the train passed. However, the track workers did not acknowledge the warning, or move off the line, so the driver sounded the horn for a second time and applied the train’s brakes. The track workers became aware of the presence of the train after warnings being shouted by the Controller of Site Safety (COSS), who stated that he had been attempting to call the signaller when the train approached. The track workers moved to the cess and clear of the line before the arrival of the train, which then struck the tree. Although the track workers were close to the tree at the time of collision, nobody was injured. diagrams and similar having a correct understanding of the distances of positions of safety from open running lines • Planners and others involved in preparing safe systems of work consulting related patrol diagrams to check for inconsistencies between them. Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents Andrew Hall said that after a period of almost five years with no fatalities involving moving trains, track maintenance staff have died in accidents each year from 2018 to 2021. “In 2019, two track workers were killed near Margam in south Wales, and our investigation found unsafe working practices that had not been detected by Network Rail’s management assurance arrangements. “At Surbiton, the accident happened probably because a patroller, who was carrying out inspections and was also responsible for the group’s safe system of work, had become distracted and lost awareness of his position relative to the line the train approached on. “The patrol was being undertaken with protection provided by unassisted lookouts. Although this was the usual practice for these inspections working with unassisted lookouts is the least safe type of system allowed for when working on track and this had not been challenged in the years leading up to the accident. “We found evidence that people at the depot involved were aware of the Margam accident, but they were convinced that their circumstances were different and that the earlier lessons did not apply to them. “Consequently, managers at the depot did not learn from the experience of Margam and continued to allow much work to be carried out under unassisted lookout protection. “While Network Rail has made great strides in reducing the amount of track maintenance work undertaken when trains are running, it remains the case that many of the recommendations that we made in the Margam report are relevant to the accident at Surbiton. “I urge everyone involved with track maintenance to look closely at what happened here, and learn from it, so that deaths at work on the line really do become a thing of the past,” he said. NEAR MISS OUTSIDE WESTON-SUPER-MARE Still image taken from the train's forward- facing CCTV showing the position of the track workers and the tree foul of the line shortly before the train struck the tree