National Rail 'site safety' worker 'avoided being hit by train by two seconds' in near miss
A railway track worker in charge of safety narrowly avoided being hit by a train travelling at 54mph in Devon.
The train missed the National Rail worker - who was the Controller of Site Safety - by a matter of seconds.
An investigation has now been completed into the 'near miss' on 13 March near Littlehempston, just outside of Totnes.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) says workers arrived at 9.35am and were all briefed to stay at least two metres away from the tracks.
Records show the signallar was contacted at 9.49am to block the lines so the team could access the area they needed to work on. This was done, with the line handed back three minutes later.
Once they reached the site, work began as planned and the group began to fix faulty cables alongisde the track.
However, the 'person in charge' noticed that distance between the tracks and the area they were working on was becoming increasingly narrow. They continued up the track but asked five others to remain back.
The person moved out of the "safe area" and close to an open railway line - leaving them just 1.1 metres away from the track and at risk of being hit by a train.
CCTV images show the London-bopund train approaching the worker at 10.44am after travelling around a tight bend.
Overhanging vegetation meant the worker was obscured from the driver's view until around five seconds before the train reached them.
It was at this point that the driver sounded a horn to warn of the train's approach. It was travelling at 54mph at the time.
CCTV images show the worker moving into the trees alongside the track - clearing the train's path with a mere two seconds to spare.
The worker then rejoined their team and led them through the area where the incident had just occurred. This was done without the line being blocked. No-one challenged the 'person in charge' about moving so closely to the live tracks.
Following the near miss, the worker said they moved out of the safe area to investigate whether the space "was wide enough to allow work to be undertaken safely".
They also said that they "did not consider that there had been a near miss".
The RAIB report revealed communication on the day of the incident was difficult.
It was stated that 'the person in charge' only realised they had been involved in a near miss when the driver of a later train asked them to contact the signaller using a signal post telephone.
It was then discovered the signaller had been trying to contact the workers with no success due to poor phone reception. The 'person in charge' was also not carrying the phone they had been issued with.
What did the investigation find?
In the report, the RAIB said the incident demonstrated the importance of:
Controllers of site safety correctly setting up and maintaining safe systems of work, including ensuring that they have effective communication with signallers
Those involved in specifying work ensuring that known hazards are accounted for and that planned safe systems of work are appropriate
Not assuming that infrastructure features will always act as a reliable guide for setting the two metres distance required for a separated safe system of work
Staff recognising that the person in charge and site warden are separate roles which cannot be undertaken by the same person at the same time