09.05.19
RAIB to investigate track worker near miss in Wales
The RAIB has launched an investigation into a near miss incident where a track worker narrowly avoided being hit by a passenger train.
The train was travelling between Dovey Junction and Borth stations at approximately 59mph on 2 April when it nearly hit a track worker at Ynys Hir.
The track worker was walking along the track to a railway access point when the train approached.
The driver applied the emergency brake and managed to slow down, allowing the track worker to move clear immediately before the train passed.
The RAIB said it had undertaken a preliminary examination into the circumstances surrounding the incident, and that having assessed the evidence gathered to date it said it has decided to publish a safety digest.
The RAIB has reported on a number of near miss incidents with track workers in recent months, including one worker avoiding a train by less than two seconds, two track workers narrowly avoiding a 100mph East Midlands train, and a near miss between a lorry and a train last month.
It has previously criticised “unsafe and unofficial” working practices around track workers, and in January the RAIB announced it was launching a class investigation into a number of life-threatening incidents in which safety systems on the railway were compromised.