Steam engine 34067 'Tangmere' - merged posts

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

I'd imagine FGW^▸ (First Great Western), whose HST^▸ (High Speed Train) came very close to colliding with the WCRC charter, will be one of the parties making strong representations to the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) consultation.

[BerkshireBugsy]

I'd imagine FGW^▸ (First Great Western), whose HST^▸ (High Speed Train) came very close to colliding with the WCRC charter, will be one of the parties making strong representations to the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) consultation.

Out of curiosity how close was the HST ? Thankfully there were no injuries or loss of life but I guess this could have been a lot worse

[JayMac]

The timings at Wootton Bassett Junction show that the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) passed the junction at 1724 1/4. The steam charter passed over the junction at 1725 1/2. As already mentioned the route for the charter was only set around 15 seconds before it fouled the junction and before the signal was cleared.

The respective timings for the two trains were:

HST, 1C76 1528 Swansea - London Paddington:
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C26694/2015/03/07/advanced

Charter, 1Z67 Bristol TM^‡(resolve) - Southend East:
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/U55252/2015/03/07/advanced

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Western Gazette:

Criminal investigation into steam special which overshot red light on main line

An incident in which a steam train passed through a red signal and just missed a High Speed Train on the main line in Wiltshire is now the subject of a criminal investigation.

Rail investigators from the Office of Rail and Road, the Government's railway safety body, are understood to have found "significant weaknesses" in the safety management systems at West Coast Railways after investigating the incident which happened near Royal Wootton Bassett.

On March 7, a steam train on an excursion passed through a red light and only narrowly missed colliding with a passing InterCity 125 train.

The Cathedrals Express service, a special train pulled by Battle of Britain class steam locomotive Tangmere number 34067, overshot the red light by 700 yards at a junction where the tracks to the West split into the line which continues to Chippenham and Bristol Temple Meads and the one for Bristol Parkway and South Wales. The steam special was travelling from Temple Meads to Southend and is thought to have narrowly missed the First Great Western 3.28pm service from Swansea to Paddington, which had just gone through.

It came to rest at the Wootton Bassett junction just one minute after the previous train had passed. Network Rail consider the incident the "most serious" of its kind to have happened on the West's railways in recent years.

Investigators have now decided that they will take matters further with an inquiry to see if health-and-safety laws have been breached and whether a prosecution in the courts could follow.

Network Rail withdrew temporarily the licence it gave to West Coast Railways, the company that runs the steam trains and operates the tours, to run trains on the railway network.

It is the first time any action of that kind had been taken against a company operating trains on Britain's privatised railways.

Now the Office of Rail and Road is considering whether or not to revoke the company's licence completely.

This is alongside the body deciding whether to mount a prosecution under health-and-safety legislation.

A spokesman for the Office of the Rail Regulator said: "The rail regulator has notified the West Coast Railway Company that it is reviewing the company's safety certification ^ needed to operate trains on the rail network. Our initial investigation has found significant weaknesses in the company's safety management systems. ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) is carrying out further assessments to determine whether health and safety laws were breached, and the enforcement action required," he added.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: "This decision has not been taken lightly. We have set out a number of actions to address the safety concerns raised and will continue to work with West Coast Railways to ensure their services can run safely in the future."

[JayMac]

Network Rail have revoked the suspension of West Coast Railway Company's operating licence as of 0001 Friday 8th May 2015.

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/statement-network-rail-revoke-west-coast-railways-suspension-notice

[eightf48544]

I'm very surprised in view of the ongoing RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) investgation and possible crimal proceedings mentioned in CFN^▸ (Clifton Down station)'s post from the Western Gazette.

[bobm]

I have had an email from West Coast Railways saying that, as a result of the Network Rail announcement, the Jacobite service between Fort William to Maillaig will start on Monday as planned.

[ellendune]

I have had an email from West Coast Railways saying that, as a result of the Network Rail announcement, the Jacobite service between Fort William to Maillaig will start on Monday as planned.

From NR^» (Network Rail - home page)'s letter:

We welcome the commitment West Coast Railways has made to improving safety management; the changes to your Safety Management System (SMS); and the three new roles (Director/General Manager, Head of Safety and Non-Executive Director) being introduced to strengthen safety leadership and corporate governance. We note your appointment before services recommence of your new Non-Executive Director and Alex
McGregor of Lloyds Register as interim Head of Safety pending the permanent appointment; and for the ongoing engagement of First Class Partnerships to ensure that changes to the SMS are implemented effectively.

We recognise and welcome that you intend to put in place a phased return of services, to allow you and your most experienced staff to implement your new procedures before use with a wider range of services.

With the new appointments I would think they would find it difficult not to revoke the suspension.  The new roleswill be costing them dearly I suspect though and they cannot afford to upset any of them as if they feel they have to resign WCR can probably say goodbye to their operating licence. 

[Electric train]

I'm very surprised in view of the ongoing RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) investgation and possible crimal proceedings mentioned in CFN^▸ (Clifton Down station)'s post from the Western Gazette.

My personal view on this

That investigation is into one event, the criminal proceedings are only a possibility so working on the bases of British Law of innocent until proven otherwise.

NR^» (Network Rail - home page) once satisfied that the conditions they had set out had been met are obliged to reinstate the access not to do so could be a breach of contract

[patch38]

Comment from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)'s transport correspondent, Richard Westcott:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32622534

[BerkshireBugsy]

Out of curiosity can someone tell me if it possible for the driver of (for example) an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) to override the fail safe mechanisms?

[IndustryInsider]

Yes, all the safety systems can be isolated, so that if they fail the train can be moved under special conditions.

[BerkshireBugsy]

Apologies if I seem to be OT but is there a connection between the company involved in this spad incident and the depot east of Southall station? Today was the first time in a month I have made the journey East of Reading and noticed that some of the maroon coaches had been daubed with graffiti. Quite a sad site as they often looked pristine .

[Oxonhutch]

I just noticed the vandalism myself this morning. Very sad.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Western Daily Press:

Improvement Notice for Hogwarts Express operator after 'nearly Britain's worst train crash'


The Battle of Britain class 34067 Tangmere locomotive, which failed to stop at a red light in Wiltshire

Rail safety police have issued a formal Improvement Notice on a heritage steam train operator ^ and could still prosecute them ^ after what would have been Britain's worst rail tragedy in generations was narrowly avoided in Wiltshire.

The Office of Rail and Road's official improvement notice order comes after the rail safety watchdog completed their investigation into West Coast Railways, which operated a steam train that was seconds from crashing into a high speed intercity train at a junction on the Great Western mainline in Wiltshire.

The incident, which happened back in March, was deemed so serious it could still lead to a criminal health and safety prosecution against the heritage train company, which operates a host of steam trains, including the Hogwarts Express.

The ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) said the case against West Coast Railways was still being investigated, and the Improvement Notice would not preclude any future prosecution.

The Improvement Notice forces West Coast Railways to tighten up its safety procedures, and adhere to a strict regime of notifying the regulator of everything it does.

"Safety on the railways is ORR's absolute priority," said Ian Prosser, the director of railway safety at the ORR. "Following the serious incident where a West Coast Railway Company (WCRC) train passed a signal warning at danger near Wootton Bassett Junction on March 7, ORR inspectors have carried out an extensive investigation into the standards of safety on their passenger services.

"The regulator's initial investigation found shortfalls in the WCRC's safety management system and in response the company has introduced enhanced safety procedures and appropriate staff competence regimes. ORR inspectors have been on site examining the new safety arrangements and inspecting WCRC passenger services to ensure that the necessary changes are being fully implemented by the company.

"ORR has issued an Improvement Notice to ensure WCRC delivers further improvements. This will ensure workers are provided with suitable training and effective systems to control safety risks and have clearly defined performance indicators in place. ORR will closely monitor the company and will not hesitate to step in if any non-compliance with the Improvement Notice is found," he added.

West Coast had been suspended from operating any steam train on Britain's railways for around seven weeks after the incident, but had its licence restored recently.

The incident on March 7 was described as 'a minute away from one of the country's worst train crashes'. At around 5.30pm, a steam train heading from Bristol to Essex failed to stop at a red light at the junction near Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire where the Temple Meads and Parkway branches of the Great Western mainline meet on the way to London.

The steam train ^ which had hundreds of 'leisure passengers' on board - braked eventually, and stopped right on the junction, just seconds after the First Great Western service from Swansea to Paddington ^ with around 400 people on board ^ went through at around 70mph.

"This was potentially a catastrophe," said Nigel Harris, the editor of Rail Magazine. "We were a minute away from a high-speed train hitting a steam train."

Edit to add Picture here is from our Phil Wakely, reproduced on the forum with his blessing

Further edit: Thanks, grahame.