皇冠体育app

Summary

At 08:21 hrs on Tuesday 12 October 2021, an Arriva Rail London (ARL) train hit the buffer stop at Enfield Town station in North London at 7.7 mph (12 km/h). 皇冠体育app train struck the buffer stop, which was damaged in the collision, and rode up on it, coming to a rest with its leading wheels about 800 mm above the rails. No serious injuries resulted from the accident. 皇冠体育app train had been travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) when it was 69 metres from the buffer stop. After briefly applying the brakes, the driver made no further control actions for just over seven seconds, until he made an emergency brake application just before the train hit the buffer stop. This occurred too late to prevent the collision.

皇冠体育app accident occurred because the driver of the train did not apply the brakes in time, as a result of him losing awareness of the driving task. 皇冠体育app loss of awareness was probably a result of him being significantly fatigued at the time. Post-accident drug and alcohol tests of the driver also yielded a positive result for a recreational drug. 皇冠体育app driver had not reported his fatigue to his employer, who in turn had not identified his fatigue when he signed on duty, or that his personal circumstances made him vulnerable to fatigue. 皇冠体育appre was also a potential conflict between his employer鈥檚 processes for ensuring that staff attended for duty and for managing levels of staff fatigue.

None of the engineered systems provided automatically applied the train鈥檚 brakes, as the conditions for their intervention were not met. In particular, the Train Protection and Warning System did not activate because the train was travelling below the speed at which the system would be triggered on approach to the buffer stop. This system was installed in compliance with the relevant standards but did not protect against the conditions leading to this accident.

Recommendations

RAIB has made two recommendations. 皇冠体育app first is addressed to ARL and relates to encouraging staff to report fatigue that could affect their ability to do their jobs safely. 皇冠体育app second, addressed to Network Rail in conjunction with RSSB, seeks to improve the risk assessment process for collisions with buffer stops at terminal platforms.

RAIB also identified three learning points. 皇冠体育app first reminds Network Rail and train companies that engineered safeguards do not protect against all events, and that operational controls may also be required to manage risk. 皇冠体育app second reminds train staff of the importance of reporting fatigue when it affects their ability to work safely. 皇冠体育app third reminds staff of the need to comply with their employer鈥檚 drug and alcohol policies.

Embargo

This investigation was completed in November 2022. Having received representations from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) about ongoing legal proceedings, RAIB decided not to place a copy of the final investigation report on its website at that time. 皇冠体育app status of those proceedings has now changed.

However, to allow the rail industry to start acting on RAIB鈥檚 safety recommendations immediately, RAIB sent embargoed copies of its final report to other public bodies, the rail industry and the parties involved at the time the investigation was completed.

Notes to editors

1. 皇冠体育app sole purpose of RAIB investigations is to prevent future accidents and incidents and improve railway safety. RAIB does not establish blame, liability or carry out prosecutions.

2. RAIB operates, as far as possible, in an open and transparent manner. While our investigations are completely independent of the railway industry, we do maintain close liaison with railway companies and if we discover matters that may affect the safety of the railway, we make sure that information about them is circulated to the right people as soon as possible, and certainly long before publication of our final report.

3. For media enquiries, please call 01932 440015.

Newsdate: 6 July 2023