Investigation blames brake settings for runaway train
● Caledonian Sleeper service failed to stop at Waverley station
A runaway Caledonian Sleeper train overshot Waverley station in Edinburgh because its brakes were wrongly set, investigators have concluded.
The train with 120 passengers on board stopped 650m beyond the platform after an uncoupling error when it was divided at Carstairs.
A report into the incident said the train was stopped by the train manager applying the emergency brake.
The driver had been unable to contact him “because he was not in his office and did not have a radio”.
The UK Department for Transport’s rail accident investigation branch (RAIB) said the driver should have followed the “train in distress” procedure of blasts on the horn, which could have alerted the train manager.
The train travelled at 41mph – more than twice the 20mph speed limit – as it passed Princes Street Gardens on the final approach to Waverley.
It reached the platform at 30mph and slowed to 23mph as it ran out of the station.
The RAIB concluded the fault was caused by the brake pipe isolation cock being manually closed when the Edinburgh and Glasgow-bound sections were split at Carstairs.
That removed control of the coach brakes from the driver.
Caledonian Sleeper has admitted an “operational mistake” and train managers have now been given radios.
The carriages involved were part of a brand-new fleet introduced three months before.
The RAIB has advised Sleeper operator Serco to review procedures “to prevent inadvertent operation” of the brake isolating cocks.
It also asked for changes to railway rules to make clear brakes should be tested after coupling and uncoupling.
The RAIB said the incident happened last August when the driver found he was unable to control the train’s speed as it neared Waverley at about 7:25am. It had approached Haymarket at 50mph, above the 40mph limit, where it could have collided with another train “at significant speed”, the report said.
“The train crew subsequently identified an air isolation cock between the locomotive and coaches was closed when it should have been open.
It “became closed during coupling operations when the train was split from the Glasgow train at Carstairs.
“This happened after the mandated brake continuity test had been completed.
“The closure of the valve was therefore undetected prior to the train’s departure.”.”
Caledonian Sleeper managing director Ryan Flaherty said: “We welcome this constructive report and have co-operated fully with the investigation. Our priority is to ensure such an incident can never happen again and we have already implemented the recommendation that has been made to Caledonian Sleeper, as well as addressing the learning points.”