Summary
At 14:34 hrs on 23 January 2013 a class 47 diesel electric locomotive derailed on a small radius curve, approaching Ordsall Lane Junction in Salford, and caught fire. The locomotive derailed to the outside of the curve. It was being hauled on the rear of an empty train, which was formed of another class 47 locomotive and five coaches.
The cause of the derailment was that the lateral forces acting at the wheel-rail interface, as the locomotive negotiated the curve, were sufficient to cause the leading right-hand wheel to climb the rail. Despite being required by standards, there was no check rail on the curve. This safeguard would have restricted the lateral displacement of the wheels and prevented the derailment....
The RAIB has directed three recommendations to Network Rail. They are concerned
with:
- ensuring that non-compliances with currently prescribed requirements for check rails are identified and mitigated;
- understanding any changes to infrastructure management processes that have increased derailment risk on small radius curves, and the need to take actions to reduce this risk; and
- determining when it is necessary to bring existing track assets in line with latest design standards.
