Lessons Learned: Rail Worker Involved in Near-Miss, Devon
A rail worker came close to being hit by by a passenger train near Littlehempston, Devon, north of Totnes station.
At around 10:44 hrs on March 13, 2024, a passenger train traveling at approximately 54 mph (87 km/h) was involved in a near-miss with a rail worker on the London Paddington to Penzance Main line near Littlehempston, Devon, around 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Totnes station.
At the time of the rail worker incident, the train was traveling on the up line, towards London. The rail worker involved was the controller of site safety (COSS) for a group working on signal troughing nearby. The group had been working using a “separated” system of work, which requires staff to remain at least 2 meters away from any open line.
The near-miss occurred after the COSS left the group and moved close to a line which was still open to rail traffic, placing them at risk of being struck. As the train approached, the COSS moved to the cess (the space alongside the line outside the ballast shoulder) and out of the path of the approaching train. The COSS moved clear around 2 seconds before the train passed.
Important safety messages
This rail worker incident demonstrates the importance of:
• controllers of site safety correctly setting up and maintaining safe systems of work, including ensuring that they have effective communication with signalers;
• those involved in specifying work ensuring that known hazards are accounted for and that planned safe systems of work are appropriate;
• not assuming that infrastructure features will always act as a reliable guide for setting the 2-meters distance required for a separated safe system of work;
• staff recognizing that the person in charge and site warden are separate roles which cannot be undertaken by the same person at the same time.
This incident occurred because the COSS moved out of the safe area that had been established as part of the separated system of work and moved close to the cess rail of the adjacent line, which was open to traffic. This put them at risk of being struck by passing trains. The COSS stated to their employer that they moved toward the adjacent line to investigate whether the cess immediately south of their group was wide enough to allow work to be undertaken safely, using a separated system of work. The group involved in the incident consisted of the COSS and five track operatives, all of whom had been provided by PACE Infrastructure Solutions to Colas Rail.
The COSS was also the person in charge (PIC) for the work being undertaken. A PIC is responsible for all aspects of safety while the team is on the track. The railway at this location consists of two lines. The more westerly line is the Up Main line from Totnes to Newton Abbot. This has a line speed of 60 mph (97 km/h) which reduces to 55 mph (88 km/h) just past the site of the incident. The more easterly line is the Down Main line from Newton Abbot to Totnes. Both lines were open to traffic at the time of the incident.
Content source credit: Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), “Near miss with a track worker, Littlehempston, Devon, 13 March 2024,” August 13, 2024.
