Driver’s fear as he finds hitting brakes won’t stop train crash
A train driver’s feelings and actions in the last seconds before two trains collided[1] have been detailed for the first time. Two people were seriously hurt and another dozen injured when a London-to-Honiton train passed through a red signal and smashed into the Portsmouth-to-Bristol Temple Meads service on the evening of October 31, 2021.
Both were derailed as they collided and crashed through a tunnel when one train was unable to stop due to leaves on the line[2] making the tracks slippery. The Salisbury Tunnel Junction crash caused millions of pounds’ worth of damage and a large-scale emergency rescue operation was launched to evacuate scores of passengers from the two stricken trains.
The driver’s mounting anxiety and measures he took as his train failed to stop are detailed in a report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch[3] published today (Tuesday, October 24). It was mere seconds between the driver’s realisation that the braking system was not working as he expected them to and the crash.
When he first applied the brakes, he “immediately felt and observed that something was wrong”. The train was not slowing down as it should have done and, within moments, he knew that a catastrophic collision was inevitable.
At 6.42pm made what’s described as a “full-service brake application and six seconds later he applied the emergency brake. The train was travelling too fast towards a red signal. Within seconds, he saw the Bristol train “appear from the left and move into the path of his train”.
He knew there was nothing he could do at this point to avoid the collision and tried to leave the cab but in so doing, he tripped over his bag and fell onto the floor seconds before the two trains smashed into one another.
The force of the collision caused the all the carriages of South Western Railway’s Waterloo-to-Honiton (1L53) service to derail. The back two carriages of the Great Western Railway Portsmouth-to-Bristol (1F30) service also left the rails. On colliding both trains continued into the tunnel.
The driver was trapped in the badly damaged cab. It took emergency services until 8.45pm to evacuate the two stricken trains. It took two weeks for services to resume through Salisbury Tunnel Junction, restarting on November 16, 2021.
Severe consequences of leaves on the line
Andrew Hall, chief inspector, Rail Accident Investigation Branch said: “This was a very serious accident and the first time since our inception in 2005 that RAIB has investigated the collision of two passenger trains travelling at significant speed. Fourteen people were taken to hospital, including two who were seriously injured.
“The phrase ‘leaves on the line’ may cause some to smile. But the risks associated with leaves being crushed onto the top of rails by the pressure of trains’ wheels, resulting in a slippery layer, is very real and long known. As with many accidents, this one resulted from a combination of many different circumstances coming together, both in the time before the accident and on the day. As a result, the barriers put in place to avoid this type of event did not work effectively.
“Accidents like this are thankfully very rare, but it is vital that we learn the lessons when things do go wrong. Along with action already taken by industry, the ten recommendations we have made today will minimise the chances of an accident like this happening again.”
Rail Accident Investigation Branch statement
The RAIB said: “The brakes were not applied sufficiently in advance of the signal protecting the junction to prevent the train running on to it, given the prevailing level of adhesion. Before the brakes were applied, the driver believed from experience of driving to London and back that day, that wheel-rail adhesion was unremarkable.
“The braking systems on train 1L53 were unable to manage the very low adhesion although as far as could be determined, they were working normally at the time. The very low levels of adhesion were due to leaf contamination on the railhead and wet conditions that passed over the area shortly before the accident.
“Our investigation found that leaf contamination was caused by an increased density of vegetation and the windy weather[6] since the last rail cleaning train had passed through the area the previous day.”
As a result of the investigation, the RAIB has made ten recommendations. These include recommendations for Network Rail to improve the management of risk relating to rails becoming slippery after leaves fall on the line. Another key recommendation is for further training of staff who cut back vegetation by railway lines.
South Western Railways has been advised to improve its training and briefing of drivers so that they are better able to identify and report areas of track which have become slippery.
The report has advised the Rail Delivery Group to work with train operators and the Rail Safety and Standards Board should review future technologies to improve braking on rails that have become slippery
References
- ^ two trains collided (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ leaves on the line (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ Rail Accident Investigation Branch (dft-newsroom.prgloo.com)
- ^ M4 fatal victims named as tributes paid to mum and daughter (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ West Country seaside town that’s being ruined by tourists (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ weather (www.bristolpost.co.uk)