Report 08/2019: Collision between road-rail vehicles at Cholmondeston
Collision between road-rail vehicles at Cholmondeston, 19 September 2018.
Summary
At around 02:30 hrs on Wednesday 19 September 2018, a road-rail ballast distributor, that was travelling in reverse on the line between Chester and Crewe, collided with a small personnel carrying vehicle, near Cholmondeston in Cheshire. Two track workers who were in the rear of the personnel carrier were injured, one of them suffering life changing leg and back injuries. There was some damage to the two vehicles involved and minor damage to the track.
The collision occurred because the design of the ballast distributor was such that there was very limited visibility of the line ahead when it was being driven in reverse, and because no-one was controlling its movements from the ground, as mandated by both the railway Rule Book and the vehicle-specific operational restrictions.
There was also confusion amongst the staff involved about the location of the work that was being undertaken and the location of personnel. As a result, those on the ballast distributor believed that the personnel carrier was further up the line than it actually was.
Recommendations
The RAIB has made two recommendations. One is addressed to RSSB to review the effectiveness of technical standards for managing safe travelling with road-rail vehicles, in particular considering controls for maintaining visibility of the line ahead and controlling speed. A second similar recommendation is targeted at Network Rail for it to consider the same risks for machines that are already operating on the network.
The RAIB has also identified five learning points, relating to the use of safety related communications protocols at site, awareness of measures to be taken when visibility of the line ahead is compromised, taking account of machines’ limitations when planning their use, the control of risk in long worksites, and ensuring that machine operators are fully trained in the operation of their machines.
Response to recommendations:
- RAIB will periodically update the status of recommendations as reported to us by the relevant safety authority or public body
- RAIB may add comment, particularly if we have concerns regarding these responses.