A fast train bore down on a worker crossing an underbridge without sufficient clearance between the down fast track and the bridge parapet.
At about 09:53 hrs on 23 April 2024, an East Midlands Railway train travelling at 104 mph was involved in a near miss with a track worker on the Down Fast line at Chiltern Green, about 2.7 miles (4.3 km) north of Harpenden station, in Hertfordshire.
As the train approached the underbridge, the driver spotted the worker crossing it and quickly recognised that the clearance was insufficient. The driver sounded the train’s horn and then made an emergency stop.
Underbridges carry the railway over something, such as a path, road, river or another railway.
The track worker was a member of a group working to the north of the bridge.
This worker had earlier left the group and walked alone back to their van at the track access point, which was just to the south of the bridge. At the time of the near miss, this person was crossing the bridge, heading north to return to the group.
Fortunately, the track worker was able to clear the north side of the bridge just before the train passed them.
However, the train driver, who was uncertain whether they had actually hit the worker, brought the train to a halt and reported the incident to the signaller.
The investigation will seek to identify the sequence of events which led to the incident. It will also consider:
- The actions of those involved, and the factors that may have influenced those actions.
- Any rules and processes that applied to the track workers, both as a group and as individuals, when crossing a structure with limited clearance.
- How the team planned the work and, specifically, how they managed the risks associated with being on or near a railway line.
- Any other underlying management factors.
The investigation is independent of any other investigation by the railway industry or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch will publish its findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of this investigation.
Another near miss incident happened on April 27th, in Wales.
Responses
The coss will be the one who is a fault for this near miss. Will face a disciplinary for his/her actions and if he/she is a blue hat would most likely will face the sack. Because when you walking on or near the line you have to keep looking every five seconds when there is a open line in the area of work
The COSS will be blamed. They would have been the person informed of the approaching train and it would be their responsibility to inform the work group.
Rail worker, if someone leaves the group, they should inform the COSS, then tell the lookout . Really, the staff should be called to their safe zone. If this was a new member of the team, they should have been accompanied. There are strict rules place, so the ‘team leader’ (coss) is at fault
And whose fault was it. The rail worker or the train driver. These kinds of near misses on the railway is becoming too common and could have been catastrophic.
Absolutely not the train driver’s fault. Do you really think they could have stopped before reaching the track worker even with a full emergency brake application the moment he’d seen them?
Train driver?? Are you joking??
Hi the trackworker,lookout plus the coss,site warden as well will be for the high jump also the track worker should have stayed put and not tempted to cross the live track to begin with as there was no safe place to cross the track and no way is the train driver to blame
In what possible way could it be the drivers fault?