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The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has released a report
with three sections into adhesion-related incidents. The first section
covers signals passed at danger at Esher on 25 November 2005, the
second section covers a signal passed at danger at Lewes on 30 November
2005, and the third section is a review of adhesion related incidents
during the autumn of 2005. The full report is available here:
A summary of the key points from the report is included below:
Esher
On Friday 25 November 2005, a South West Trains service from Alton
to Waterloo passed two signals at danger by 1050 metres and 200 metres
respectively shortly after passing through Esher station. The train
approached to within 200 metres of another train, from Woking to Waterloo.
There were no injuries and no damage to the infrastructure caused
by the incident. The immediate cause was low wheel-rail adhesion.
Lewes
On Wednesday 30 November 2005, a Southern Railways service from Brighton
to Hastings passed a signal at danger by 150 metres at Lewes station.
The driver of a second train, from Lewes to Seaford, realised that
the two trains were on a converging path and stopped short of the
potential point of conflict.
There were no injuries caused by the incident. The immediate cause
was low wheel-rail adhesion
Adhesion Performance during autumn 2005
The two incidents detailed above occurred against a backdrop of an
increase in the number of adhesion related signals passed at danger
and station overruns on the national rail network during autumn 2005,
as compared with autumn 2004. The RAIB therefore investigated to establish
the causes of the increase and to identify ways performance can be
improved.
Recommendations
There were issues identified in both the Esher and Lewes investigations
which have broad implications. These and the related recommendations
are dealt with in part 3 of the report.
The RAIB made three recommendations relating to issues that were specific
to the incident at Esher. These are associated with the movement of
trains in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
Three recommendations are also made relating to issues specific to
the incident at Lewes. These address the training of signallers to
deal with emergency situations and the management of incidents.
The broader investigation into the adhesion performance during autumn
2005, part 3 of the report, identified a range of issues and recommendations
are made to Network Rail, Train Operating Companies and the Rail Safety
and Standards Board. The recommendations relate to:
- Wheel-slide and sanding equipment
- Train operating guidance
- Prediction, treatment of and research into low adhesion conditions
- Industry investigation of low adhesion events
- Performance criteria and simulation of trains
- Research and testing of magnetic track brakes
Those recommendations that required action in the short term were
advised to the industry in July 2006 in order that the findings could
be taken into account during the industry's preparations for autumn
2006.
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