Great Western Coffee Shop

Line problem: between Taunton and Castle Cary. Owing to a problem at a level crossing between Taunton and Castle Cary all lines are blocked.

Impact:
Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 90 mins or diverted at short notice. An estimate for the resumption of normal services will be provided as soon as the problem has been fully assessed.

Customer Advice:
Very limited road transport has been sourced to operate between Taunton and Westbury in both directions calling at Castle Cary. Customers travelling to/from London from/to Devon & Cornwall are to travel via Bristol Temple Meads.

South West Trains services are conveying passengers between Exeter St Davids and London Waterloo in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for First Great Western rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.

Cross Country services are conveying passengers between Bristol Temple Meads and Penzance in both directions until further notice. Arrangements have been made for First Great Western rail tickets to be accepted for these journeys.

A First Great Western spokesman said the two drivers on the train were both shocked by what happened.

Two things I noticed.

Only 37 pax on board.

Car pushed half a mile down track.

Do colleagues have a good knowledge of whether max speed would have been reached (from Taunton stop) and what that max at that point is?

Thanks.

How's this for quick response!

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/P00044/2013/03/21/advanced

Note the 4 minute late arrival at PAD.  Perhaps Taunton (and west of there) pax for PAD would wish it always went that way!  The Great Way Round indeed. 

(http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/275793/Article/images/18480754/4680891.jpg)

Image from This Is Somerset website

Can't quite make out the powercar number.

(EDIT: On a slightly closer inspection, looks like 43134).

Students escape injury in fatal Somerset train crash

By Emma, Phoebe, Emma, Somin, Denis, Fraser
Isca College of Media Arts in Exeter

BBC News School Reporters from Devon have escaped injury when travelling on a train involved in a fatal crash in Somerset on Thursday morning.

The incident happened at about 06:30 GMT on the line between Taunton and Castle Cary when the train hit a car on a level crossing near Athelney.

One person died but Network Rail and First Great Western said none of the 37 train passengers was injured.

It has been a harrowing and emotional morning for the teenage students who had been heading to the Radio 1 studios in London and were preparing on the train for the BBC News School Report project when the crash occurred.

School Reporter Denis, aged 15, said: "We were talking through some questions on the train to Radio 1, we thought we could smell petrol and we heard a loud bang."

Students Emma, 11, Phoebe, 12, Emma, 13, Somin, 15, Fraser, 15, and Denis, along with three members of staff accompanying them, were transferred to another train and are due to be in London's Paddington Station at around 14:30 GMT.

They are currently running about five hours behind schedule and are aiming to be at London's Radio 1 studios in time to conduct a number of interviews for School Report.

The affected service was the 05:46 GMT from Exeter St Davids to Paddington, London.

Network Rail said the train was not derailed.

More pictures can be found on the Isca College of Media Arts blog (http://iscanews.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/bbc-school-report-2013/).

Rail unions last night called for level crossings to be phased out in the wake of a man dying after apparently driving through a closing barrier and being struck by a high-speed train in Somerset.
 
It happened shortly before 6.30am on the Stanmoor Road crossing near Athelney between Taunton and Castle Cary. Train staff, including the driver, say the half barrier was already closing when the red vehicle came onto the tracks.
 
The car was trapped under the 05.46 service from Exeter to London Paddington and was shunted half a mile down the track.
 
None of the 37 passengers and eight members of staff on board were injured but the two drivers in the cab were said to be ^very distressed^. One person inside the car, believed to be the male driver, was pronounced dead at the scene.
 
RMT transport union general secretary Bob Crow said: ^This latest, shocking fatality will once again shine the spotlight on safety issues at level crossings. RMT has been campaigning for many years to speed up the phasing-out of level crossings, which are a 19th-century solution in an age of high-speed railways.
 
^Wherever road and track come together there is a clear and present danger and as we see far too often it is a lethal combination and the time has come to get serious about addressing this issue ^ cost should not override public and staff safety.^
 
Network Rail said it was treating the incident as ^non- suspicious^, with the focus of the accident investigation on the actions of the driver and not the workings of the crossing.
 
It said the barrier of the crossing was lowered at the time of the crash and the driver is believed to have had to weave around them in order to cross.
 
Aaron Mead, who lives about 100 yards from the crossing, said: ^We heard an almighty bang in the early hours of this morning. A couple of pictures on the bedside table fell over.
 
^I didn^t think anything of it to be honest, and then before we knew it we had endless amounts of sirens, police cars, fire engines and ambulances bombing up and down the road. It made me jump out of bed quite quickly.^
 
James Hector, owner of Willowbank Services less than a mile from the scene, said the barriers close very quickly.
 
^It^s a very fast crossing,^ he said. ^Once the barriers go down the train is there within 30 seconds.
 
^They are half-road barriers so it would be possible to drive around them.^
 
The train involved in the accident returned to Taunton station at lunchtime, where the passengers were finally allowed to disembark after a traumatic six hours.
 
Fire, police and ambulance crews were already at the station to help the badly shaken-up passengers and train crew.
 
The majority of the passengers were directed on to another service to Cardiff, which was calling at Bristol.
 
Stuart Lambert, a passenger on the train, was on his way to London for a training course when the tragedy happened.
 
The teacher, 37, from Taunton, said: ^I was sitting at the back of the train, just dozing, when I felt a shudder and the brakes slam on.
 
^The train came to a controlled stop some distance later, where the announcer told us that someone had jumped the level crossing.
 
^We were told to move to the front of the train, where they kept us calm and refreshed, and kept everyone well informed.^
 
The eight-carriage train returned to Taunton at around noon, almost six hours after the fatal collision.
 
Stuart added: ^A lot of people were shaken up, understandably, but the staff were absolutely brilliant and kept everyone calm and comfortable.^
 
A spokesman for Network Rail said: ^The incident was reported at 6.26am.
 
^The train driver and First Great Western staff have given a statement to British Transport Police that the barriers were lowered and the car was seen to drive onto the crossing.
 
^BTP report the crime scene has been deemed non-suspicious.^

Does anyone know why we half barriers instead of full ones?  It's not to save lifting mechanism electricity usage is it?

Crossings such as this are safe when used and observed correctly. And that is a fact.

I'm going to have to completely agree with you there. Peoples driving standards have changed for the worse IMHO. If the crossings were used correctly then there would never be a problem. People are in far too much of a rush nowadays.

If I were to walk down the road and got to a level crossing just as the lights were flashing. I'd not hesitate to wait until the train had passed ...

Looking back 50 years and a couple of days, before Dr Beeching, there were many more railways and a lot of them were much more local in nature.  And many of these lines had level crossings a-plenty.   So drivers were far more likely to come across them, use them, and be familiar with what they did and how they worked.  I don't have any old statistics, but I do wonder whether the very increased rareness of them intrinsically makes each remaining one all the more dangerous?

Looking back 50 years and a couple of days, before Dr Beeching, there were many more railways and a lot of them were much more local in nature. 

I don't have any old statistics, but I do wonder whether the very increased rareness of them intrinsically makes each remaining one all the more dangerous?

I was struck by a group of younger people waiting at Swindon, waiting to board a train headed west.    Train arrives in, and they just stand there waiting for the doors to open for them.

and they then asked how much money was saved in building a modern train like that without automatic doors.  ::)

Tributes to rail crash victim Dennis William France looking forward to retirement

The 65-year-old motorist, who died after his car was in collision with a train at a level crossing in Athelney, was due to retire this week.

(http://www.yeovilexpress.co.uk/resources/images/2387810/)
The train pushed the vehicle half a mile down the tracks.

Keen countryman Dennis Wallace France, of Curload, Stoke St Gregory, worked on the front desk at Debenhams^ Bedford House offices in Taunton for 20 years. Today (March 28) would have been his last day and friends and colleagues said they had had plans to celebrate his retirement.

Good friend Tim Duxbury said: ^It^s a cruel irony that Den was due to retire from work today and had many grand plans mapped out for both his garden and the rest of his life. Those plans will sadly remain unfulfilled as will his desire to see his beloved Manchester United lift the Premiership trophy again.^ He said Dennis was always smiling and joking, adding: ^He was kind, generous, thoughtful and sensitive with an incorrigible sense of humour only just kept in check.^

Chairman of Stoke St Gregory Parish Council Heather Venn spoke of the village^s shock. She said: ^It^s affected people in Curload and I know he was close to his neighbours here. It has also affected the community in witness terms.^

Dennis moved to the area several years ago to fulfil his dream of rural life and those close to him say he loved the quiet location and his garden and chickens were his pride and joy.

The incident happened shortly before 6.30am last Thursday on the line between Taunton and Castle Cary, less than a mile from Dennis^s home. It is believed the half barrier was already closing when he drove on to the tracks.

British Transport Police say the accident is not being treated as suspicious. An inquest was opened and adjourned by West Somerset Coroner Michael Rose on Monday. The cause of death was given as traumatic injuries.

Fatal accident at Athelney automatic half barrier level crossing, near Taunton, Somerset
 
At about 06:23 hrs on Thursday 21 March 2013, train 1A73, the 05:46 hrs First Great Western service from Exeter St. Davids to London Paddington struck a car which was crossing the railway at Athelney level crossing near Taunton, Somerset. The driver of the car, who was its sole occupant, was killed in the collision.

The crossing is of the automatic half barrier type. At such crossings one barrier on each side of the railway is automatically lowered to block half of the road and thus prohibit approaching vehicles from passing through. The lowering of the barriers is preceded by the operation of flashing road traffic signals, which then continue to operate until the barriers are raised.

Evidence gathered to date suggests that the car had been detained at the crossing with the barriers down and the road traffic signals working correctly. The car was then driven round the crossing barriers and onto the crossing where the collision occurred.

The crossing closure sequence would normally be automatically initiated by an approaching train. For trains approaching at the maximum permitted speed of 100 mph (160 km/h), the warning lights start to flash around 27-28 seconds before the train arrives, and the barriers start to lower around 20 seconds before the train arrives. However, on this occasion the crossing closure sequence commenced earlier. This was because the previous train, an engineers^ on-track machine, had passed through the crossing in the opposite direction to normal. Under these circumstances, the configuration of the signalling controls at the crossing meant that the closure sequence started when the signaller set the route through the crossing for train 1A73.

 
Image showing Athelney Automatic half barrier crossing


The RAIB^s investigation will examine the sequence of events and the factors that may have influenced the actions of the car driver. It will also include an assessment of the design of the signalling controls for Athelney level crossing and a review of the arrangements made to manage the risk from automatic level crossing barriers being in the lowered position for variable periods of time.

I'm not going to speculate further in advance of the RAIB's full report.

A very wise council ...

Pedant Alert

It is worrying. Of course the correct action, if you assume the barriers have failed, is to use the telephone to contact the signalman. I wonder if there were any signs suggesting that.

The engineering train had probably passed over some time before the passing of the HST, as they were using the same line. Because the engineering train had used the wrong line the barriers went down when the route was set across the crossing, not when the HST activated the sequence automatically, which could have meant the barriers went down earlier than they would have normally.

I agree with 81F. There seems to be no instruction that explicitly covers this situation (premature operation) in the railway's rule "book". I'm not going to speculate further in advance of the RAIB's full report.

Summary

At about 06:23 hrs on Thursday 21 March 2013, a car drove around the barriers of Athelney automatic half barrier crossing, near Taunton in Somerset. This took the car into the path of a train which was approaching the crossing at high speed. The driver of the car was killed in the resulting collision.

The motorist drove around the barriers without waiting for a train to pass and the barriers to re-open. The level crossing was closed to road traffic for longer than normal before the arrival of the train, because of earlier engineering work that had affected the automatic operation of the crossing. The motorist may have believed that the crossing had failed with the barriers in the closed position, or that the approaching train had been delayed. He did not contact the signaller by telephone before he drove around the barriers.

The RAIB has made two recommendations to Network Rail. These relate to reducing the risk resulting from extended operating times of automatic level crossings and to modifying the location of the pedestrian stop lines at Athelney level crossing. A further recommendation is addressed to Network Rail in conjunction with RSSB, to consider means of improving the presentation of telephones at automatic level crossings for non-emergency use. One recommendation is addressed to the Office of Rail Regulation, to incorporate any resulting improvements which are reasonably
practicable into the guidance it publishes on level crossings.

Somerset rail crash driver 'thought crossing failed'


A man who was killed when he drove around a level crossing in Somerset may have "believed the crossing had failed", a report has found.

Dennis France, 65, died when his car was hit by a train at Athelney crossing, near Taunton, in March 2013.

Engineering work meant the half-barrier was held down for longer than usual.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has made recommendations to Network Rail to reduce the risk of extended operating times at level crossings.

Mr France, who was due to retire from his job at Debenhams in Taunton a week later, decided to drive round the automatic half-barrier shortly before 06:30 GMT.

'Regular user'

His car was hit by a high speed train travelling from Exeter St David's to London Paddington at about 100mph.

Engineering work had affected the timing sequence of the level crossing which was regularly used by Mr France.

The RAIB report stated: "Since the motorist was a regular user of Athelney level crossing, he may have believed the crossing had failed when a train had not passed the crossing within the normal period within which a train would arrive."

The report said Mr France, from Curload near Stoke St Gregory, had initially waited at the crossing but two witnesses said they then saw the car "roll back" from the lowered barrier and drive around it.

The report found the level crossing was lowered for between 75 and 103 seconds, instead of the 'normal' period of around 29 seconds before the train arrived.

It added that he may have believed that he would be able to see the train and stop in time or else that he had sufficient time to cross before it arrived.

The report also stated that Mr France had not contacted the signaller by telephone before he drove around the barriers.

Recommendations made by the RAIB included asking Network Rail to reduce the risk resulting from extended operating times of automatic level crossings and modifying the location of the pedestrian stop lines at Athelney.

It also recommended that consideration should be given to improving the signage and positioning of telephones at automatic level crossings for non-emergency use.

Perhaps even worse is the selfishness of people wanting to take their own lives by throwing themselves in front of an oncoming train. 

Dennis France inquest: Car engine 'flew through air' after crash

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/73183000/jpg/_73183042_73181211.jpg)
Athelney crossing is an automatic half barrier type

A car's engine was ripped out and threw through the air as the vehicle was struck by a train at 100mph (161km/h), an inquest has heard.

Dennis France, 65, died when his car was hit by the Exeter to London train at Athelney crossing, near Taunton, in March 2013.

Mr France "rolled back" and drove over the crossing having waited between 30 and 60 seconds, the inquest heard.

A previous report said Mr France may have thought the crossing had failed.

Engineering work had affected the timing sequence of the level crossing which was regularly used by Mr France.

The driver of the train told the inquest in Taunton that "he couldn't believe what had happened". William Ashton said: "There was a very loud bang. I was immediately in shock."

He added he had not seen if anyone was inside the car and was also worried the train, which travelled three-quarters-of-a-mile following the impact, would derail.

Another witness, a cyclist, told the coroner she had been at the barrier earlier that morning. She said the barrier was down and felt she had been waiting for between five and 10 minutes. Gemma Miller said: "I walked up my bike and round the barrier [and] looked both ways, it was eerily quiet."

She added that she felt the crossing was safer with a bike as she could see and hear more clearly than being in a car.

Mr France had worked as a security guard for Debenhams in Taunton for 23 years, and was due to retire the following week.

One of Mr France's friends, Alison Chedham described him as "reliable, supportive, kind and lots of fun".

The inquest at Taunton continues.

On a legal point, can someone called as a witness to an inquest be prosecuted after giving evidence which includes them admitting a summary offence?

Disappointing to read that a witness at the inquest also made what could have been a fatal error. Another road user, this time a cyclist, ignoring the flashing red lights and barriers. Again, not bothering to to use the phone provided.

If the barriers are down and the lights are flashing you must assume a train is coming. If you believe they've failed then you must not assume it is safe to cross. Use the phone provided.

On a legal point, can someone called as a witness to an inquest be prosecuted after giving evidence which includes them admitting a summary offence?

Dennis France inquest: 'Error of judgement' led to level crossing death

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/77391000/jpg/_77391951_dennis(5).jpg)
Dennis France was a stickler for time and was proud of never being late for work as a security guard

A man who was killed driving through a closed level crossing when he was late for work made an "error of judgement", an inquest heard.

David France died when his car was hit by an oncoming train at a half-barrier crossing near Taunton in March 2013.

Coroner Michael Rose told Taunton Shire Hall Mr France was "influenced by his desire not to be late for work," because he was a stickler for time.

The inquest jury ruled the security guard's death was accidental.

Mr France, who was just a week away from retirement, was stuck at the crossing at Athelney by barriers that were down for longer than usual, although they were not faulty.

In what the coroner described as "a tragic accident" the inquest heard how Mr France decided to drive around the barriers - which only covered half of the road.

Mr Rose used a Network Rail estimate of 103 seconds of how long Mr France waited before crossing. He then asked jurors to sit in silence for that period of time to give them Mr France's perspective.

The coroner will now write to Network Rail to recommend installing a full barrier crossing and moving signal boxes to improve visibility.

Mr France worked at Debenhams head office in Taunton for 23 years and had always arrived on time for work.

His friend Alison Chedham, said: "He didn't want to let his workmates down he always said to me if he was late for work then the person who had been working all night was late home."

Speaking of the inquest conclusion she added: "Clearly Dennis made a mistake, made an error of judgement which we all do at times, fortunately it doesn't always cost us so dearly."

A Network Rail spokesman, said it was determined to close as many level crossings as possible and has pledged to shut a further 500 crossings by 2019.

On a legal point, can someone called as a witness to an inquest be prosecuted after giving evidence which includes them admitting a summary offence?

The short answer is yes. If the evidence is given under oath, an attempt to deny it under oath in another forum could give rise to a charge of perjury, maximum sentence 7 years, IIRC. At no time in any legal proceedings can you be compelled to give evidence that r other authorised officercould incriminate you, something enshrined in US law in the 5th Amendment to their constitution, and a tenet of judicial procedure in England and Wales for many a long year.

Common sense sometimes prevails. In a serious incident resulting from outside influence, a criminal investigation will take place alongside the Coroner's investigation, and in this case the RAIB's own work. Often, the agencies will share information, to avoid duplication, but each has its own distinct purpose in looking at the incident.  The Crown Prosecution Service may indicate before the inquest that no charges will be brought, or they may indicate that they will not use the defendant's evidence to the inquest at the trial, usually where they are satisfied that a conviction can be secured without it. That would not preclude the prosecution asking the same questions in court - it would be a matter for the defendant to decide whether or not to answer.

Coroners' Inquests are a vital part of the legal system, and often lead to recommendations for improving safety. In railway terms, this has been an incremental process from the time the first train ran, and it is likely that without it, our railways would be some years behind the current standard of safety. Hence why witnesses are encouraged to speak openly, so far as they can. A lot of the law relating to negligence, personal injury, and duty of care grew from some rather gruesome rail accidents in Victorian times, doing away with the attitude of "They bought their ticket, they knew the risks" at an early stage.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch do protect the personal details of any witnesses - see the RAIB Leaflet 2 Your witness statement (http://www.raib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/100719-Pub-Your_witness_statement-DKC-V3.pdf) on their website.

By law, the RAIB must not at any time disclose
to anyone else, including the police, the Office of
Rail Regulation (ORR), your employer or any other
enforcing authority, personal details about you in
connection with any information that you give us in
your statement, unless we are compelled to do so
by a Court Order.
...
Although the report may make use of the
information that you gave to the RAIB Inspector in
your interview, it will not identify you by name.

10(2) Except by order of a relevant court and subject to paragraph (7) the Branch
shall not disclose to anyone-
(a) a statement or declaration provided to the Branch or any recording or
other note or record relating to such statement or declaration unless the
person who has provided such statement, declaration, recording, note or
record consents to its disclosure;
(b) the name, address or other information relating to a person-
(i) who has provided to the Branch a statement or declaration or
other note or record relating to such statement or declaration; or
(ii) who has indicated to an inspector or person appointed under
regulation 6(1) that he intends to provide a statement or declaration
or other note or record to the Branch;
unless that person consents to such disclosure; or
(c) a medical record relating to a person involved in the accident or
incident.

10(3) Except by order of a relevant court and subject to paragraph (7), the Branch
shall not be required to disclose to anyone-
(a) personal information relating to a person involved in the accident or
incident or with the investigation of that accident or incident (other than
personal information protected by paragraph (2));
(b) the opinion of an inspector or a person appointed under regulation 6(1)
which is unsubstantiated by evidence;
(c) the notes made by an inspector or person appointed under regulation
6(1), whether written or held electronically;
(d) any trade secret or other information, the release of which, in the
opinion of the Chief Inspector would, or would be likely to, prejudice the
commercial interests of the person holding it; or
(e) working documents of the Branch.

The coroner will now write to Network Rail to recommend installing a full barrier crossing and moving signal boxes to improve visibility.

Move which signal box exactly?  ???