2015 Wootton Bassett SPAD incident

2015 Wootton Bassett SPAD incident

Photograph of the locomotive involved.

34067 Tangmere was the locomotive hauling the charter train
Location of Wootton Bassett Jn in Wiltshire.
Details
Date 7 March 2015
Time 17:25 UTC
Location Wooton Bassett Jn, Wiltshire
Coordinates 51°32′07″N 1°54′20″W / 51.53528°N 1.90556°W
Country United Kingdom
Rail line Great Western Main Line
and South Wales Main Line
Operator West Coast Railway Company
First Great Western
Type of incident SPAD
Cause Under investigation
Statistics
Trains Two
Injuries None
Damage None
grid reference SU 066 818

On 7 March 2015, a steam-hauled charter train passed a signal at danger (SPAD) on the approach to Wootton Bassett Junction, Wiltshire and subsequently came to stand across the junction. The train that the signal was protecting had already passed through the junction and no collision occurred.

As a direct result of the incident Network Rail banned the train's operator, West Coast Railway Company, from operating trains anywhere on the British railway network. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has opened an investigation into the incident, which it has called a "dangerous occurrence". The incident was rated the most serious SPAD in the United Kingdom since December 2010.

Incident

Wootton Bassett Jn
Legend
Great Western Main Line
from Bristol Temple Meads
Path of charter train
Signal SN43
Temporary speed restriction
Signal SN45
Stone terminal
South Wales Main Line
from Bristol Parkway
Path of service train

Great Western Main Line
to London Paddington

At 17:25 UTC on 7 March 2015, a charter train approached Wootton Bassett Jn, where the Great Western Main Line and South Wales Main Line diverge at Royal Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire. Approaching signal SN43, there was an Automatic Warning System (AWS) magnet in the trackbed, warning of a temporary speed restriction ahead.[1] The normal line speed was 125 miles per hour (201 km/h), but a temporary restriction of 85 miles per hour (137 km/h) was in place.[2] This did not apply to the train as steam locomotives are restricted to a maximum of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h) on Network Rail (NR) tracks.[3] An automatic brake application was made on the train after it had passed over the magnet because the driver did not acknowledge the warning given within 2.7 seconds. The driver should have allowed the train to come to a halt and contacted the signalman, but he did not. He cancelled the warning after the train's speed had been reduced from 59 miles per hour (95 km/h) to about 51 miles per hour (82 km/h). This action had the effect of rendering the AWS and Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) unable to apply the brakes on the train. The train passed signal SN43, which was displaying a single yellow (caution) aspect. The driver acknowledged the AWS warning, but did not reduce speed.[1]

Signal SN45 was displaying a red (danger) aspect. By the time the driver realised this, there was insufficient distance available to stop the train.[1] The train eventually came to a stand on the junction some 700 yards (640 m) past the signal. The service train that was being protected by the red signal had already passed through the junction and no accident occurred.[4] As the points had already moved for the passage of the charter train, no damage was done to the trackwork at Wooton Bassett Jn.[3] The line speed approaching the junction was 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) for the service train.[5] Before he was relieved from driving duties, the driver of the charter train claimed that signal SN43 was displaying a green (proceed) aspect. NR investigations showed that a single yellow (caution) aspect was displayed.[5]

Following the incident, a relief driver worked the train forward to Swindon. There a new driver was supplied by West Coast Railway Company (WCRC) who drove the train to Southall, Middlesex, where the train was terminated.[6]

The incident was rated the most serious SPAD since December 2010, rating 25 out of 28 on Network Rail's scale. The scale is a logarithmic scale, with each increase being rated twice as serious as the previous one. Any SPAD rated at 20 or more leads to a mandatory investigation by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).[7] The December 2010 SPAD was at Uphill Junction Somerset, on the Bristol to Exeter Line when a passenger train overran a signal by 180 yards (160 m). It was ranked at 26. The month before, a passenger train overran a signal at Tamworth, Staffordshire. It was ranked at 25.[8]

Trains

Charter train

The charter train, reporting number 1Z67,[1] was a steam-hauled passenger train, the 16:35 charter from Bristol Temple Meads to Southend East, Essex.[6][9] The train was hauled by Battle of Britain-class locomotive 34067 Tangmere (TOPS number 98 767[6]). Tangmere was hauling thirteen carriages,[1] which were a mixture of Mk 1s and Mk 2s.[4] The train was operated by WCRC.[1]

Service train

The service train was the 15:28 Swansea to London Paddington,[9] reporting number 1L76.[6] It was operated by a First Great Western Intercity 125 High Speed Train.[4]

Investigations

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch opened an investigation into the incident, which it calls a "dangerous occurrence".[1] One aspect of the investigation is whether the seals on the TPWS equipment were already broken before the train departed from Bristol, or were not in place at the time.[3] The ORR opened a separate investigation into the incident,[4] as did the Rail Safety and Standards Board.[10] WCRC also opened an internal investigation into the incident.[11]

Ban

Network Rail

“ The operations of WCR are a threat to the railway - Network Rail.[12] ”

Effective midnight on 3 April,[4] NR banned WCRC from operating trains anywhere on the British railway network. Seven areas of deficiencies were identified. WCRC were required to address five of them and show significant progress towards addressing the other two by 15 May. If this could be achieved, the ban would be lifted.[13] During the period that WCRC are banned from the rail network, they are still required to pay Track Access Charges to Network Rail.[12] This was the first time that a Train Operating Company had been banned in the United Kingdom.[10]

The SPAD at Wootton Bassett was the latest in a number of incidents involving WCRC.[14] On 12 July 2014, a charter train, reporting number 1Z57,[15] operated by WCRC caused a lineside fire at Bell Busk, North Yorkshire,[14] The train was headed by Hall-class locomotive 5972 Olton Hall, which was hauling a charter train from Carnforth, Lancashire to York. The fire was caused by a defect in the locomotive's ash pan which allowed a piece of burning coal to fall from the locomotive and land alongside the track.[2] Following the incident, WCRC was served with a Suspension Notice, which had the effect that WCRC was banned from operating steam locomotives on that route. They raised the issue with the Access Disputes Committee (ADC), calling Network Rail's actions "partial and malicious". The Suspension Notice was later partly lifted, allowing operation on routes where there was deemed not to be an enhanced fire risk.[15]

An investigation found that the crew of the train had not been advised that there was a raised fire risk at the time. WCRC were found not to have co-operated fully with the investigation. The ADC found that WCRC's Safety Management System was deficient due to confusion over whether or not the crew of the train had been informed of the increased fire risk. WCRC failed to inform Network Rail of its plans to try to prevent future incidents of a similar nature. The ADC found that this was in breach of WCRC's Safety Management System. WCRC chairman David Smith instructed his staff that no further correspondence would be gone into over the matter. The ADC found that this instruction was prejudicial to the safe operation of WCRC's Safety Management System.[14] The instruction was later rescinded. WCRC were also found to be in breach of their Track Access Contract.[15]

Office of Rail and Road

On 17 April, the ORR took steps to revoke WCRC's Safety Certificate. A process of representation was started, with parties having until 15 May to comment. The ORR's opinion is that WCRC's Safety Management System "is not able to ensure that services are being operated, designed or maintained safely".[16]

Fallout

At the time of the ban, WCRC operated about 90% of all steam charter opeations on Britain's railways.[17] DB Schenker was the only other operator licenced to run steam trains on Network Rail tracks.[18] DB Schenker has a policy of only operating air braked trains. Many trains operated by WCRC use vacuum brakes, which means that DB Schenker are unable to operate these charters in place of WCRC.[19]

Steam Railway editor Howard Johnston said that the aftermath of the SPAD represented "possibly the greatest challenge to our movement".[17] Following the ban, fifteen charters were cancelled and four were postponed in the period 4–26 April. Companies affected included PMR Railtours, Railway Touring Company, Steam Dreams and Vintage Trains.[20] Despite many requests from Rail, WCRC chairman David Smith refused to comment on the incident.[5] In an interview with Steam Railway, he stated that the company was working to satisfy the seven demands made by Network Rail, and was only cancelling trains about a week in advance, in the hope that WCRC would be able to run trains again in the future.[21] Responding to a comment by Smith that "We are co-operating with the ORR in its enquiries, but from what we can see, all it is doing is keeping a watchful eye on what is going on", Rail editor Nigel Harris expressed astonishment at the "jaw-dropping" comments as criminal charges could lead to imprisonment following a guilty verdict. The reputational damage to WCRC was described as "possibly commercially fatal".[5] Rail contributor Pip Dunn said that WCRC refused to talk to journalists when negative stories concerning the company were being reported, yet were happy to when publicising a charter they were running.[3]

As of 29 April 2015, Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate were considering whether or not to prosecute WCRC. The ORR also has powers to prosecute.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Dangerous occurrence at Wootton Bassett junction, Wiltshire". Rail Accident Investigation Branch. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Browne, Stefanie (15 April 2015). "Tension between NR and West Coast Railways escalates". RAIL (Peterborough: Bauer Media) (477): 32–33. ISSN 0953-4563.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Wolmar, Christian (29 April 2015). "Tangmere SPAD highlights the need for extra vigilance". Rail (Peterborough: Bauer Media) (478): pp38–39. ISSN 0953-4563.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Brown, Stefanie (2 April 2015). "West Coast Railways track access suspended". RAIL. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Harris, Nigel (29 April 2015). "WCR is a major test for ORR". Rail (Peterborough: Bauer Media) (478): p3. ISSN 0953-4563.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Johns, Cedric (8 April 2015). "SPAD stops Tangmere at Wootton Bassett". Heritage Railway (Horncastle: Mortons Media Ltd) (201): p59. ISSN 1466-3562.
  7. ↑ Streeter, Tony (24 April 2015). "Most serious SPAD since December 2010?". Steam Railway (Peterborough: Bauer) (440): p73. ISSN 0143-7232.
  8. ↑ Browne, Stefanie (29 April 2015). "SPAD rankings". Rail (Peterborough: Bauer Media) (478): p8. ISSN 0953-4563.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Browne, Stefanie (15 April 2015). "WCR "a threat to safe operation of the railway" - NR". Rail (Peterborough: Bauer Media) (477): pp6–7. ISSN 0953-4563.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Quine, Adrian (12 April 2015). "Off the rails. Future in doubt for West Coast steam trains 'run like private toy'.". The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group Limited). Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  11. ↑ "(open letter)" (PDF). West Coast Railways. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Suspension Notice 1 April 2015". Network Rail. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Steam train company suspended after running red light in Wiltshire". Independent Television News. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Haigh, Philip (15 April 2015). "Comment". RAIL (Peterborough: Bauer Media) (477): 8. ISSN 0953-4563.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Determination in respect of ADA 20" (PDF). Access Disputes Committee. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  16. ↑ Browne, Stefanie. "ORR takes next step to revoke WCR safety certificate". Rail. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Johnston, Howard (24 April 2015). "We're all on the losing side". Steam Railway (Peterborough: Bauer) (440): p3. ISSN 0143-7232.
  18. ↑ Wilcox, David (24 April 2015). "'Thomas' owner pulls out of Waterloo '70th' party". Steam Railway (Peterborough: Bauer) (440): p15. ISSN 0143-7232.
  19. ↑ Streeter, Tony (24 April 2015). "What's the damage? It's too early to say.". Steam Railway (Peterborough: Bauer) (440): pp72–75. ISSN 0143-7232.
  20. ↑ "West Coast sidelined due to 'safety weaknesses'". Steam Railway (Peterborough: Bauer) (440): pp8–10. 24 April 2015. ISSN 0143-7232.
  21. ↑ Smith, David (24 April 2015). "'We want the issues resolved quickly'". Steam Railway (Peterborough: Bauer) (440): p9. ISSN 0143-7232.