Safety training call over rail 'near miss'

Changes in safety training for railway workers have been proposed by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) after a "near miss" incident.

A track worker was nearly hit by a train travelling from Brighton on a railway line at Tinsley Green, near Crawley, West Sussex, on 17 March. In its report into the incident, the RAIB found it had occurred because the track team on site made a key mistake.

Network Rail said its own investigation had reached similar conclusions: "The recommendations within the RAIB report are currently being considered," a statement added.

The track worker escaped injury by diving clear, but the train struck his welding equipment.

The RAIB report said the immediate cause was "the system of work at the site did not take into account the possibility of trains switching lines on which the team was working".

The report concluded that the underlying cause was the lack of explicit instructions. It said it had made eight recommendations as a result of the incident, which were primarily aimed at the competency of staff in charge of safety, rules and training, and the identification, recording and briefing of hazards.

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