Great Western Coffee Shop

Overspeeding incident at Dauntsey, Wiltshire

Preliminary examination into an overspeeding incident near Dauntsey, Wiltshire on 12 August 2020.

At about 16:07 hrs on Wednesday 12 August, a Great Western Railway (GWR) service from London to Bristol travelled at around 117 mph (188 km/h) over an emergency speed restriction (ESR) of 20 mph (32 km/h), near Dauntsey, Wiltshire. This incident did not result in any damage or injury.

This incident is an example of circumstances in which a warning of an ESR ahead would be valuable. The driver was misled by the way the lineside information was presented, which did not sufficiently highlight that the existing ESR had been modified such that passenger trains were now affected. The 30/125 ESR had been allowed to remain in place for some time without being converted to a Temporary Speed Restriction (TSR), which would have changed the information presented to the driver on this occasion and made it more likely that he would have responded to a newly-imposed ESR arising from the hot weather.

We have written to Network Rail and RSSB, copied to the Office Rail and Road, to alert them to this event and the circumstances surrounding the application of the speed restriction. We have also brought the need for action to implement the previous relevant recommendations to their attention.

A case for approach control?

OTC

If it were embedded in software, as rules can be, it would be automatic, whatever its category.

Remember those flickering oil lamps!

OTC

There was also a comment that the driver did not know the passenger train restriction had been applied that afternoon because NR had not told GWR.

The RAIB said a 30mph (48km/h) was imposed on freight trains only on the main line at Dauntsey on 27 June.

On the day of the incident, it was reduced to 20mph (32km/h) for both freight and passenger trains.

But the report stated the driver of the Great Western Railway (GWR) service from London to Bristol had "no means of knowing" it had been changed earlier that afternoon because Network Rail had not informed GWR.

And the estimated time for doing that is? Not before next heatwave, I think, which is what RAIB will expect.

Back to "bits of paper" then.

A TRAIN driver sped through a 20mph zone at almost 100mph over the limit.

A report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch revealed the London to Bristol Great Western Railway train was travelling at 117mph near Dauntsey, Wiltshire, on August 12.

Hot weather and a track defect meant the speed limit had been cut from the national standard of 125mph to 20mph at the time.

The report said that, as Network Rail had not informed GWR, the driver was not aware and assumed the speed limit side had fallen off the side of the track.

Amazing I never knew Electrostars could run at 125mph or that the third rail had been extended to Dauntsey.

Amazing I never knew Electrostars could run at 125mph or that the third rail had been extended to Dauntsey.

At around 12:25 hrs on 20 December 2020, a passenger train travelling between Glasgow Central and London Euston entered a 5 mph (8 km/h) emergency speed restriction, near Beattock, at about 45 mph (72 km/h). The speed restriction was in place because of the earlier failure of an embankment. There were no adverse consequences as a result of the overspeed.

We have undertaken a preliminary examination into the circumstances surrounding this incident. Having assessed the evidence which has been gathered to date, we have decided to publish a safety digest.

The safety digest will be made available on our website in the next few weeks.