Passenger train derailment near Chilham, Kent - 26 July 2015

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

Whatever the course of events, from reports it appears that all staff and emergency services dealt with the incident in a thoroughly professional manner. Praise also to the locals of Godmersham who opened their village hall and provided shelter and refreshments to the train's passengers while they awaited onward transport.

We can but speculate on the precise sequence of events. I'm as guilty of others of doing so, and as ChrisB says, we should refrain from doing so further. The full details will be some way in the future when the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) (I think the incident is serious enough, and had the potential to be much worse, for the RAIB to investigate) publish their report.

In the meantime, a sobering reminder of what can happen when a train hits livestock:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polmont_rail_accident
http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/eventsummary.php?eventID=150

[Electric train]

I am just surmising about the GSM-R^▸ (Global System for Mobile communications - Railway.) it is possible the impact tripped the circuit breakers to the axillaries in the leading carriage, the drivers instinct would be to go ahead to protect on-coming trains the rear already being protected by the train its self also the Guard would deal with the rear of the train if needed.

I expect the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) will want to understand why the in cab radio system failed to see if there is anything required to make the equipment more robust.

This incident just goes to show the professionalism of the Train Crew and the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Signaller, MOMs^▸ (Mobile Operations Manager) and Electrical Control Room etc who dealt with it

[ChrisB]

A blog by the person who tweeted that photo up above of the front coach from the second....
http://liberalengland.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/on-being-derailed-between-wye-and.html

On being derailed between Wye and Chilham

I spent yesterday with Liberator's Stewart Rayment and family at Hastings Pirate Day. (Arrr!")

I took the train back through Rye to Ashford and then caught another one to Canterbury.

Somewhere between Wye and Chilham there was a loud bang and the train began to judder. It soon became obvious that the coaches (I am not sure if there was one or two of them) in front of mine had become derailed, but we came safely to a stop.

No one was hurt - even the single passenger in the coach you can see in my photo. The train crew took control, the emergency services came (there was even a helicopter) and we waited.

Eventually we all had to climb down a ladder to reach the ground. and then make our way down a muddy back and across a field to a lane.

After a walk up the lane it was a ride in a police van (I chose the cage at the back as it was the only chance I will get to ride in one unless someone talks) to Godmersham village hall.

There tea was provided, our details were taken and eventually a bus to Canterbury and stations further east was provided. I got back to my B&B just before one in the morning.

It was all very British - no one panicked, the emergency services and railway staff were immensely impressive and it all ended with a cup of tea produced without any notice very late on a Sunday night.

It could have been more serious if the train had gone down the bank, but it didn't and no one was hurt.

Because I tweeted the photo above the world's media have been after me this morning. I have said that anyone can use the photo with a suitable credit but I do not want to be interviewed.

Oh, and what I thought was the acrid smell of the brakes being suddenly applied turned out to be the smell of burning cows. I think I shall have fish or chicken this evening.

And the Guardian's article...

Rail operators were warned of cows near tracks before Kent collision

Network Rail and Southeastern trains received reports of stray cattle up to 90 minutes before collision in which two carriages were derailed

Rail operators were warned that stray cows were near the tracks 90 minutes before a train collided with a herd in Kent and partly derailed, it has emerged.

The 8.10pm from Charing Cross to Ramsgate was travelling at 60-70mph when it struck and killed up to five cows on the line between the villages of Wye and Chilham, in Kent, at about 9.45pm on Sunday. Two carriages were derailed.

Network Rail and Southeastern trains revealed they had received reports of stray cattle up to 90 minutes before the collision but after a train was sent at cautionary speed without incident they resumed normal service.

Seventy-two passengers ^ including two pregnant women ^ were evacuated by emergency services to nearby Godmersham village hall, but there were no injuries.

The driver is thought to have prevented a more serious collision when he jumped out of his cabin and halted an oncoming train. Passenger Christian Ellam, 24, said he was aware rail operators had been warned that cattle were near the track, adding the incident ^could have been a hell of a lot worse^.

^A member of staff from Southeastern was at the village hall,^ Ellam, a coffee shop manager, said. ^He explained that they knew before that there were some cows on the track. I want to know why they let a train go through at such a speed. It could have been prevented.^

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has sent a team to the scene to complete a preliminary examination before it decides whether to launch an investigation.

Ellam, who is trained in first aid and was travelling from St Pancras International to Chartham after changing at Ashford, donned a high-visibility jacket and assisted the train guard in attending to the driver, who was uninjured but shaken.

^It was a horror scene,^ he said. ^The train completely, suddenly stopped and lights started flickering.

The guard came rushing through, panicking. I went out with him in a high-vis jacket to assist the driver. He was shaken up. There were bits of cows all over the place. It was a pretty bad smell.^

Passenger Jonathan Calder tweeted a picture from the train showing the carriage in front of his at an angle with the right-hand side of it clearly no longer on the rails. He wrote: ^Everyone is fine but this train is going nowhere. Front coach derailed.^

A Southeastern spokesman said: ^We get numerous calls about livestock on the line where we run trains through rural areas.

When this happens, standard procedure is that we always run a train at caution ^ at slow speed ^ to see if there is any potential hazard. If nothing is found ^ which was the case last night at Chilham ^ then services are reverted to normal running.

^The incident at Chilham happened an hour and a half after the report that there was livestock on the track and services reverted back to normal only after checks were carried out and no livestock was found.^

He said the crash caused the train^s radio system to stop working, so the driver leapt from his cab to stop an approaching train. ^He realised at this point his radio had stopped working so he jumped out of the cab and ran down the track to halt an approaching train.

He was then able to contact the signaller through the radio of this train to switch off the power to the line.^

The operator said the line would remain closed until at least Wednesday and buses were replacing trains between Ashford International and Ramsgate via Canterbury West.

A spokesman for Network Rail said up to five cows had been killed, and confirmed they first received a report of livestock in the area at 8.50pm.

^The sighting was investigated by Network Rail staff in the area, but no cows were found,^ he said. ^Two trains then passed through the area, with neither reporting any cattle on the line.^

[JayMac]

The RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) has released its report into this incident:

Full report: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/514390/R052016_160406_Godmersham.pdf

Summary:

At around 21:40 hrs on 26 July 2015, a passenger train derailed after striking eight cows that had gained access to the railway at Godmersham in Kent, between Wye and Chilham stations. There had been a report of a cow on the railway an hour earlier, but a subsequent examination by the driver of the next passing train did not find anything. There were no further reports from other trains that passed before the accident occurred.

The train involved in the accident was travelling at 69 mph (111 km/h) at the point of impact. There were 67 passengers on board plus three members of staff; no injuries were reported at the time of the accident. Because the train^s radio had ceased to work during the accident, the driver ran for about three-quarters of a mile towards an oncoming train, which had already been stopped by the signaller, and used its radio to report the accident.

The accident occurred because the fence had not been maintained so as to restrain cows from breaching it, and because the railway^s response to the earlier report of a cow on the railway side of the fence was insufficient to prevent the accident. In addition, the absence of an obstacle deflector on the leading unit of the train made the derailment more likely.

Recommendations

As a result of this accident, RAIB has made five recommendations addressing the fence inspection process, clarification of railway rules in response to reports of large animals within the boundary fence, the fitting of obstacle deflectors to rolling stock (two recommendations), and the reliability of the train radio equipment.

RAIB has also identified two learning points for the railway industry, relating to the railway^s response to emergency situations, including the response to reports of large animals within the boundary fence and the actions to take following an accident.

[ChrisB]

Fence inspections? That's a laugh, NR^» (Network Rail - home page) don't do them, just wait for them to fall over.

Hopefully, they'll start now, but that'll mean less money elsewhere

[JayMac]

If you actually read the report you will see that, in this particular case, a fence inspection was carried out some weeks before the incident. The report also says that the normal routine is annual inspection. The report also states that there is process in place for scoring the condition of fences.

To say that Network Rail don't do fence inspections is plain wrong. And if that were found to be the case in this incident then the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) would very likely have highlighted the lack of inspection.

How they are done and the methodology used is questioned. But they are done.

[ChrisB]

Depends on your definition of 'inspection'....and I'd love to see NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s.

Just take a regular gander when travelling through countryside - I regularly see collapsed fencing, really poor state fencing (unrepaired in years frankly), fencing totally covered in undergrowth of several years such that you can't see what's holding it up, but at either end there are fence posts. Sorry, by my definition of 'inspection', it doesn't happen....

[JayMac]

Network Rail is a public body. Why not FoI them about the alleged uninspected fences in your area Chris?

[ChrisB]

Frankly I'm happy with my opinion.

[JayMac]

Let us know the areas that concern you and I'll contact Network Rail. After all if fencing is in such a poor state in these areas there's a real risk of trespass or animal incursion. That can have serious consequences. Civic duty surely to report the danger?

[ChrisB]

They do inspections apparently. That's why animals keep getting on the track. Oh, that's when they inspect & fix, of course.