The Rail Industry Investigation Branch (RAIB) has started an investigation into an incident involving track workers at Penkridge in Staffordshire.

Penkridge is between Wolverhampton and Stafford on the Birmingham branch of the West Coast main line.

Two track workers were almost struck by a freight train travelling at 61 mph (98 km/h) just south of Penkridge station on Monday, 11th July 2022 at around 00:06 hrs.

The track workers moved clear of the path of the approaching freight train less than one second before it reached their position, but as the freight train approached them, another train was passing the track workers on an adjacent line.

The track workers were at the site as, at the time of the incident, there was an ongoing fault with the overhead line equipment that was causing significant levels of disruption to train services in the area as electric traction could not draw electric power from this section of line.

Rail Industry Investigation Branch’s investigation will look at the circumstances around the incident, and seek to identify the sequence of events that led to track workers’ near miss. During the investigation, the RAIB will look at and take into consideration a number of specific points, including:

• the actions of those involved;
• what arrangements were in place to protect the track workers from moving trains;
• what were the roles, responsibilities, and working patterns of relevant staff;
• how the competence of those staff was managed;
• were there any relevant underlying factors.

The RAIB has recently published reports into a near-miss between two trains in Leicestershire, a track worker fatally injured in south London, and a near miss with track workers and a tree near Weston-Super-Mare.

This investigation by the Rail Industry Investigation Branch is independent of any investigation by the railway industry or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.

At the conclusion of the Rail Industry Investigation Branch’s investigation, it will publish a report detailing its findings together with any recommendations to improve safety.