D-Train post-fire modifications

Vivarail’s internal investigation (published on February 2) concluded that the D-Train fire that occurred on December 30 was caused by an oil leak, following a repair intervention made to one of the train’s external engines by a third-party supplier ( RAIL 820).

The incident report found that fuel lines leading to the 3.2 litre diesel engine, which is part of a range usually fitted to Transit road vans, had been refitted using a procedure that did not meet manufacturer Ford’s manual advice not to reuse the pipes.

The fault was not spotted due to “a lack of suitable test procedures”, and so Vivarail now tests any repaired ‘gensets’ in isolation on load bays, before fitting them to its trains. Chairman Adrian Shooter says the supply chain has now been reviewed, while other design faults have been corrected.

These include replacing plastic fuel pipes with metal ones that have much greater heat resistance, after fuel pipes were found to have melted during the fire (adding fresh fuel and thus hampering efforts to extinguish it). The melted and subsequently replaced pipes can be seen on the top of the engine in the pictures below, taken in the immediate aftermath of the fire and then again on March 30.

The fuel shut-off valve has also been re-sited, as it was found to have been too close to the blaze to be manually operated by crew members.

Finally, the engine’s fire suppression system has been modified after 230001’s FM200 gas system was rendered ineffective by wind dispersal on December 30.

It has been replaced by a two-stage system that first fills the engine space with fire retardant foam, followed by a secondary application of water mist. The red foam extinguisher can be seen to the left of the newly modified engine, while water mist nozzles are located around the top edge of the engine casing.