'There's no sense to what happened': Relative of Margam train victim speaks of 'heartbreak' a year after deaths
By ITV Cymru Wales reporter Ellie Pitt
On 3 July 2019, two railway workers died after being hit by a train while working on the tracks between Port Talbot and Bridgend.
A report into the deaths of Gareth Delbridge, 64, from Kenfig Hill and Michael Lewis, 58, from North Cornelly, found an official lookout was not in place on the day they died.
12 months on from that day and there are still many unanswered questions about the events that led to their deaths.
ITV Cymru Wales reporter Ellie Pitt met the son-in-law of Mr Delbridge, who spoke of the family's shock one year on.
Speaking to Adrian Grant, I realise his family’s emotion is still close to the surface, their pain still raw, the tragedy still fresh.
"You don’t get over the shock. I don’t think it’s ever going to get easier to understand," he said.
"There’s no sense to what’s happened. We want to make sure there’s more control over circumstances to prevent this happening. Until something’s put in place to make sure that everyone’s comfortable that it can’t happen, I don’t think anything will ever heal what the families are feeling.”
On 3 July, Gareth Delbridge and Mike, or Spike, Lewis began their day like any other. The pair had worked together for decades and had more than eighty years experience on the railways between them.
They set to work carrying out maintenance on part of the track near Margam. They were using noisy machinery and therefore wearing ear defenders.
The pair and another man, who narrowly avoided being killed too, became ‘focused with the task they were undertaking’ according to an initial report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.
As the train from Swansea to London approached, the men were unaware. The train driver applied the emergency brake and another group of Network Rail workers nearby tried to warn the trio of the oncoming danger, but it was not enough.
At 9.52am, Mr Delbridge and Mr Lewis died after being struck by the train.
Early investigations point to the lack of an official lookout as one of several factors that increased the vulnerability of the pair. But their families question why any tasks are carried out while trains are travelling on the track.
"It’s an archaic way of working," Mr Grant said.
"We’re in 2020, and we still put people working on live lines when trains are running.
"These trains travel 120mph and they expect people with flags and horns to notify people working on the track that there’s a train coming.
"That’s like you or I going along to the M4 trying to stop the traffic or trying to protect someone. It’s just absolutely ridiculous."
Mr Grant said the two men were carrying out standard maintenance tasks that he felt could have been done "in a far more controlled environment."
"We understand you can’t prohibit works happening on live lines because it would stop the trains running. So if you step down one from that, it’s about how you minimise that.
"It’s terrible that two people have died. We want to see this culture change. Don’t put people out on the tracks anymore if they don’t need to go out there.”