Derailment at East Somerset Jct (20/03) [RAIB report now released]

[2HAP]

RAIB have released their report into a derailment at East Somerset Junction.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/report-192017-freight-train-derailment-at-east-somerset-junction

Summary

At about 17:49 hrs on Monday 20 March 2017, six wagons of a freight train carrying aggregates from Merehead Quarry to Acton Yard derailed at East Somerset Junction, between Westbury and Castle Cary...

Recommendations

The RAIB has made four recommendations addressed to Network Rail. These cover enhancements to the company’s procedures for plain-lining of points, mitigation of risk at locations where points have previously been plain-lined, improvements to planning the operation of track measurement trains and evaluating the delivery of key track maintenance activities in the Westbury area.

The RAIB has also made a learning point, reinforcing the importance of identifying gauge spread...

 

[Dr Hoo]

Sadly we once again see local Network Rail engineering staff struggling to keep on top of track condition against a background of increasing traffic usage. Yes, more cash for maintenance and renewals in the next control period will help but amount of money that it is taking to reverse decades of under-spending is eye watering.

It is telling that there had been some confusion over whether the loop in question might be rationalised out of existance in the foreseeable future, even as stone traffic continued to rise. Old attitudes and expectations of managed decline possibly still at work in the background.

 

[daikilo]

It is telling that there had been some confusion over whether the loop in question might be rationalised out of existance in the foreseeable future, even as stone traffic continued to rise. Old attitudes and expectations of managed decline possibly still at work in the background.

Whenever I hear of a situation described using the words "confusion" and "might" it is obvious to me that processes are not sufficiently robust. Recommendation 3 in the report is clearly trying to address this for the specific example but it should be a generic guidance that "when in doubt, don't speculate".