A warning about a fallen tree on a railway line, made 12 minutes before it was struck by a train travelling at 84mph, was not relayed to the driver, an investigation has revealed. The ScotRail train’s driver’s cab was severely damaged in the collision which occurred in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, at 1.09pm on December 27 last year.
According to a report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), a member of the public called a Network Rail helpline about the tree at 12.57pm. Despite repeated attempts by the call handler to pass this information on to Network Rail’s Scotland integrated control centre (SICC), their calls were not answered until nine minutes after the accident.
The helpline is run by Journeycall, contracted by Network Rail to handle public inquiries, and the call handler did not have access to a priority telephone number for the SICC. The RAIB noted the telephone equipment used at the control centre did not display missed call information.
The report stated the train driver “only escaped serious injury” as they crouched behind their seat when they realised “the collision was inevitable” after applying the emergency brake. The tree trunk entered the cab “around driver’s eye level” and stopped “just above the driver”.
The driver was showered in glass and other debris but managed to leave the cab and walk alongside the train to find the conductor.
An automated emergency alarm was activated on the train and sent to a signaller in Dundee, blocking the railway lines. According to the RAIB, none of the 37 passengers or three staff members on board were injured.
In response to the incident, Network Rail has provided helpline staff with an additional emergency contact number. The RAIB made three recommendations to Network Rail, Dundee City Council, and the Rail Safety and Standards Board.
A Network Rail spokesperson stated: “We will carefully review the RAIB’s comprehensive report into the incident at Broughty Ferry where a local authority tree was blown onto the railway. We have already made changes to the way reports from members of the public about safety concerns are managed within our control room and are constantly reviewing how we can improve safety.
“We are making increased use of our helicopter before and after storms to help us identify potential problems and we are also currently investing millions in the biggest de-vegetation programme ever undertaken on Scotland’s railway to reduce the risk of trees falling onto our infrastructure.”
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