The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has released its report into an incident when a train struck debris on the line at Yarnton near Hanborough in Oxfordshire last February.

The incident happened on Friday, 10 February 2023 just after 18:35 at Yarnton, between Oxford and Hanborough.

The driver of the 17:34 Great Western Railway service from London Paddington to Hereford reported that his train had struck an object on the single line.

The object turned out to be brick rubble from a collapsed wing wall that was part of a bridge carrying a local road over the railway.

When the collision occurred, the train was travelling at about 58 mph. It sustained damage but did not derail, and there were no reported injuries to the traincrew or passengers on the service.

It was known that the wing wall of the bridge adjacent to the railway was in poor condition. It had collapsed because it could no longer carry the load imposed by the embankment that it was supporting.

Investigations found that effective control measures to address the risks associated with the wing wall’s deteriorating condition had not been taken and had not been put in place.

Four recommendations were made by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch to Network Rail about improvements for specifying repair work, and the quality of information available for making safety-critical decisions relating to the stability of structural defects.

The recommendations also address the need to improve the process by which defects are evaluated, and how the asset knowledge of wing walls can be improved.

Four learning points for infrastructure managers and examination contractors were also identified regarding how structural movement is monitored, what risk mitigation measures should be put in place when remedial work is deferred, the importance of clearing vegetation so that structural examinations can take place and the value of including comparable photographs when examination reports are compiled.