Rail worker killed by train in Lincolnshire - 4 December 2012

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

A railway worker has died after being struck by a train while working on a track near Lincolnshire.

The man, thought to be aged 26 and from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was struck at Sykes Lane, about half a mile from Saxilby station at about 13:55 GMT.

British Transport Police said it involved the 11:19 GMT passenger train from Scunthorpe to Lincoln Central.

The force said the Rail Accident Investigation Branch was carrying out an inquiry.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Railway worker killed by train in Lincolnshire named

A railway worker who died when he was hit by a train in Lincolnshire has been named by police.

Scott Dobson, 26, from Stainforth, in Doncaster, was killed on Tuesday when he was working on a track at Sykes Lane, about half a mile from Saxilby station at about 13:55 GMT.

A spokeswoman from Network Rail said the man was a contractor.

British Transport Police said the Rail Accident Investigation Branch are carrying out an inquiry.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Rail Accident Investigation Branch website:

Fatal accident involving a track worker at Saxilby, Lincolnshire, 4 December 2012

The RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) is investigating a fatal accident which occurred at Saxilby, north-west of Lincoln, on Tuesday 4 December 2012.

At around 13:50 hrs, the 11:19 hrs Northern Rail service from Scunthorpe to Lincoln was passing through Saxilby when it struck and killed a track worker who was employed through a recruitment agency. The track worker was part of a group undertaking track maintenance on the adjacent line, which was closed to rail traffic at the time. His role at the time of the accident was that of Site Warden. The Site Warden^s sole responsibility is to monitor the actions of the other people in the work group and immediately warn them if they move into a position where they could be struck by a train operating on an adjacent open line. The Site Warden is not therefore required to look out for approaching trains as his focus is on ensuring that all members of the work gang remain in a place of safety at all times.

The RAIB^s investigation will consider the sequence of events that led to the accident, the planning of the work and the actions of those on site. It will also review the way that the works were managed and any factors that influenced the actions of those involved. The RAIB^s investigation is independent of any investigation by the safety authority (the Office of Railway Regulation) or the British Transport Police.

The RAIB will publish a report, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of its investigation. This report will be available on the RAIB website.

[Chris from Nailsea]

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch)) has released its report into a fatal accident involving a track worker at Saxilby on 4 December 2012. The RAIB has made four recommendations.

Summary

At 13:50 hrs on Tuesday 4 December 2012, a train travelling from Scunthorpe to Lincoln struck and fatally injured a track worker at Saxilby, near Lincoln. The individual concerned was acting in the role of Controller of Site Safety (COSS) at the time of the accident. He was involved in work taking place on one of the two tracks at this location which was closed to rail traffic, but standing close to the adjacent line over which trains were still operating.

The RAIB^s investigation found that the COSS stepped back into the path of the train as it passed the site of work. The following factors led to the accident:
 - the COSS had not implemented a safe system of work for the task that was being undertaken at the time that the accident occurred;
 - none of the other track workers on site challenged the absence of a safe system of work or the actions of the COSS who was working within an unsafe area;
 - the COSS became distracted and did not see or hear the approaching train;
 - no effective action had been taken in response to the involvement of the COSS in two other safety incidents in the two months preceding the accident;
 - the COSS had not been subject to an effective formal performance review by the agency (SkyBlue) that had hired him for COSS duties for the work taking place on 4 December 2012 and on other occasions; and
 - deficiencies and omissions within SkyBlue^s management systems had not been identified by its parent company (Carillion).

The RAIB has also observed that the processes employed by the railway industry during its own investigation into the accident at Saxilby may have taken insufficient account of the trauma that some of the witnesses were suffering as a result of their proximity to the accident.

The RAIB has made four recommendations. Three recommendations have been made to Network Rail regarding the use of agency staff in safety leadership roles, measures to address the risk arising from the use of agency staff in any role that involves working on and around the track and its processes for interviewing witnesses after serious incidents and accidents. One recommendation has been made to Carillion in conjunction with SkyBlue in respect of reviewing the effectiveness of changes made to safety management arrangements following the accident at Saxilby.

[Chris from Nailsea]

An update, from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch website:

The RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch)^s report into the accident involving a track worker being struck by a train at Saxilby, Lincolnshire on 4 December 2012 has been updated to version 2. The changes affect paragraphs 36 and 38 and comprise clarifications to the requirements in the railway rule book for the type of work that was being undertaken at Saxilby on the day of the accident.

[Electric train]

One of the things this very sad incident lead to was NR^» (Network Rail - home page) challenging its contractors how they hire casual labour especially over zero hours contracts,