GOING OUT WITHOUT A BANG: RAILWAYS DITCH DETONATORS
Preserved lines cease using explosive warning devices on ORR and HRA advice.
etonators are being phased out on preserved railways in response to advice from the Office of Rail and Road and the Heritage Railway Association. Invented in 1841 by Edward Cowper, the explosive devices are placed on the railhead as an emergency signal or to protect a disabled train, and were mandatory equipment on locomotives and in guards’ compartments.
But in July, the South Devon Railway became the latest line to cease using them, while the Kent & East Sussex Railway had already done so last year.
New rules and procedures have been implemented for train protection; KESR locomotives now carry high-intensity beacons, while at the SDR all brake vans and light engines carry a rail-mounted flashing red light.
The HRA is preparing formal guidance to railways in support
Dof a statement at its March 2016 conference, attributed to Ian Raxton of the ORR, that “minor railways should not need to use detonators” and that they “should be replaced by a system of operations that does not require them. “Detonators can cause serious harm to people in close proximity and should only be handled by competent staff. If a minor railway is required to use detonators then it should have a procedure for their handling and regular inspection by a competent person. This should include maintaining a history of each detonator, regular inspections through to disposal via a licensed agent.” Simon Belgard, the ORR’s Media Relations, Campaigns and Digital Communications Manager, said: “Fundamentally speaking, it is not easy to see the justification for the use of detonators on minor railways where route lengths are generally short, normally there is single line operation, some form of control to ensure one train in a section, line speeds no greater than 25mph and operations are normally undertaken in daylight. “ORR’s view comes from the position that detonators are an explosive device and there remains an ongoing degree of theft and vandalism across all types of railway, resulting in people being exposed to risk from these devices being misused.
“It remains guidance, not a prohibition. However, as with any equipment or operating practice we expect a risk assessment to have been conducted on their use and appropriate controls applied. “When there are equally effective methods of protecting trains then we would expect railways to be cognisant of their duties to minimise risk and to choose the operating method that does so. “It remains for each railway to consider their individual operation practices and signalling controls to decide what is the best way to manage failed train scenarios. For some railways it may well be that detonators remain an appropriate method of control. Where railways do continue to use them then there should be robust controls on the acquisition, issue, storage, use and disposal of detonators and fog signals.”