A man was struck by a train while working in a track maintenance team that had been instructed to carry out engineering work while trains were running at up to 85mph, despite time being available to undertake the task at night, when the tracks were quiet.
On the morning of 30 March 2010, Terence Wray, a maintenance worker, was repairing a fault on the track at Cheshunt Junction in Hertfordshire. The junction has five lines, three going out from the station and two branch lines, and at the time of the incident trains were passing by on the fast line at 85mph every three minutes.
In order to let a train approaching at about 30mph pass through the junction, Mr Wray, a Network Rail employee, moved to what he believed was a position of safety on the track. However, the train diverted to the line on which he was sheltered and struck him. He suffered multiple fractures and deep lacerations, and has since retired.
The other members of the maintenance team – three Network Rail employees and four contractors – moved out of the way on to other areas of the track and were not injured. Tom Wake, the Office of Rail Regulation’s deputy director, railway safety, told SHP that the position of safety on the track hadn’t been clearly demarcated.
The ORR investigation found that the work at the junction had not been properly managed, and had not taken into account the safety of those working at the site. The person who had planned the work didn’t have the appropriate qualifications or training, and failed to do everything they should have done to plan the work safely.
The ORR also identified that the work could have been carried out at night when trains weren’t running, and hence the track maintenance workers were placed in unnecessary danger.
Following the incident, Network Rail changed its procedures to ensure that maintenance work at Cheshunt Junction, and at other junctions in the Anglia region, was carried out at night when no trains are running.
No enforcement notices were issued in relation to the incident, but the ORR did highlight an Improvement Notice issued to the company in 2002, which related to green-zone maintenance work and risk minimisation.
Network Rail pleaded guilty to contraventions of s2(1) and s3(1) of the HSWA 1974 at Hertford Magistrates’ Court, on 13 November last year.
Sentenced on 26 February at St Albans Crown Court, the firm was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £25,000 in costs.
After the hearing, Wake commented: “Where maintenance work takes place it should be planned, well managed and not place workers in unnecessary danger.
“In this case, Network Rail’s management and planning for maintenance of the track at Cheshunt Junction, Hertfordshire was not good enough. The company’s failures caused the entirely avoidable and life-changing injuries for its employee, Terence Wray.
“Since the incident, Network Rail has reduced the number of works taking place on tracks while trains continued to run, further protecting the safety of its employees.”
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As a pre RAIB accident investigator there is a lot of detail missing from this report but agree that inadequate planning, COSS briefing and work site management appear to be factors in this incident and would like to have seen these included in this briefing.
As for working at night it does not indicate what work activity was being undertaken by the maintenance team; night work can introduce additional hazards that can outweigh the risks to working in daylight, including when observing defects.
How did the RIMINI Planner get away with this?
Possesion planning should have identifed all potential train movement, and any additional engineering train movement in support of the work.
The safe zone should have been determined and all points controllers should be aware of these factors.
The reliance on adopting safe posistioning on adjacent tracks as apposed to the 4ft is asking for trouble.