Rail workers’ brush with death

APAIR of rail workers were two seconds away from being hit by a train travelling at 95mph in Somerset, a report has revealed.

They were trying to clear a tree from the line and managed to get off the track in the nick of time before the train sped by near Weston-superMare.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has confirmed that the train hit part of the tree on January 14 this year at Uphill junction, causing some minor damage.

No one was injured and the CrossCountry service from Penzance to Newcastle did not derail.

In a report published this week, the RAIB said the near miss showed the importance of staff managing vegetation close to railway lines being aware of the risks and ensuring that relevant control measures are in place.

There was conflicting evidence as to whether the site supervisor was directly monitoring the tree being cut down, the RAIB said in its report.

The driver reported what happened to the signaller as soon as the train came to a stop. They then examined the train and saw it had suffered minor damage but was able to continue to Bristol Temple Meads.

The train had left Taunton at 12.54pm that day. It was travelling close to the 100mph maximum speed permitted on the track when the driver spotted the workers in the distance.

Four people working for rail contractor QTS agreed that the tree had not been secured with a rope as it was cut and it fell down the embankment, with two workers following it down to try to move it clear of the line.

The site supervisor tried to call the signaller to request trains be stopped, rather than immediately instructing the team to get back into a position of safety.

According to the RAIB report, the train driver sounded the horn about 10 seconds before reaching the track workers but they did not acknowledge the warning or move off the line. The driver then sounded the horn for a second time and applied the brakes.

After shouted warnings from the site supervisor and the site warden, the workers pushed the stump back towards the embankment before getting themselves clear of the line.

The RAIB said risk assessments and documents provided by QTS had “inconsistent advice” on the use of ropes when felling trees.

QTS said decision-making on using ropes was down to the site team’s discretion and based on the size of the tree.