The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has undertaken a preliminary investigation of the circumstances surrounding an incident near Leyland in Lancashire, when a track worker narrowly missed being struck by a passing train.

The incident occurred at about 14:14 on Thursday, 14 March 2024, near to Euxton Junction on the West Coast Main Line in Lancashire.

A track worker working on the Up Fast line narrowly missed being struck by a train travelling at around 110 mph.

Workers who had been working on the track had previously agreed with the signaller that the line should be blocked to train movements while they carried out their work.

However, although the track worker involved in the incident was working on the Up Fast line, the blockage that had been agreed with the signaller was for the adjacent Down Fast line.

The signaller had not applied a blockage to the Up Fast line, and it was still open for trains to pass.

After the Rail Accident Investigation Branch carried out the preliminary investigation of the circumstances surrounding the incident and making an assessment of the available evidence, it will publish a safety digest that examines:

• The severity of the incident.
• The potential for the consequences to have been more severe.
• The potential for new safety learning, and how widely it could be applied.
• Safety trends.
• Areas of particular safety concern.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has also opened a preliminary investigation into the cause of a derailment of a passenger train in Cumbria on Friday, 22 March, and what caused a derailment earlier this month in Surrey.