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Author Topic: Fatality on train at Twerton, sadly pronounced dead at Bristol Temple Meads (Dec 2018)  (Read 14082 times)
bobm
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« Reply #15 on: February 11, 2019, 18:48:02 »

I have noticed recently that new warning stickers have been applied on and around HST (High Speed Train) windows.

..and on board announcements.
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Oxonhutch
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« Reply #16 on: February 11, 2019, 20:38:00 »

I have noticed recently that new warning stickers have been applied on and around HST (High Speed Train) windows.

GBE and I noticed them on our journey back from Westbury on Saturday.
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Phantom
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« Reply #17 on: October 16, 2019, 10:09:02 »

I don't think we should be speculating on what will come out of the investigation.

Official report just released

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/839604/R142019_191016_Twerton.pdf

At about 22:04 hrs on Saturday 1 December 2018 a passenger was leaning out of the
window of a moving train when her head came into contact with a lineside tree branch
near Twerton, a suburb of Bath. The passenger suffered fatal injuries. The train, a
Great Western Railway service from London Paddington to Exeter St David’s, was
travelling at approximately 75 mph (120 km/h) at the time.
On the type of coach making up the train, opening windows are provided to allow
passengers to reach through and operate the external door handles when the train
is in a station. This is the only means by which passengers can open the train doors.
However, other than warning signs, there is nothing to prevent passengers from
opening and leaning out of such windows when trains are away from stations and
moving. The accident occurred because the passenger did this when branches from a
lineside tree were in close proximity to the train.
A possible underlying factor was that Great Western Railway’s risk assessment
process had not historically identified the risk of passengers or staff being injured as
a result of putting their heads out of windows on moving trains. Consequently, Great
Western Railway had not provided adequate mitigation measures to protect against
the risk.
The RAIB (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) has made four recommendations and identified two learning points.
One recommendation is addressed to operators of mainline passenger trains,
including charter operators, and seeks to minimise the likelihood of passengers
leaning out of droplight windows when a train is away from stations. A second
recommendation, is addressed to operators of heritage railways and seeks to improve
their management of the risks associated with passengers leaning out of vehicles.
The third recommendation is addressed to Great Western Railway and seeks to
reduce the potential for hazards associated with its operations being overlooked.
The fourth recommendation is addressed to RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board) and seeks to ensure that its advice
on emergency and safety signs reflects the level of risk associated with the hazard
being mitigated.
The learning points reinforce the importance of undertaking regular tree inspections
and the value of train operators having
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Gordon the Blue Engine
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« Reply #18 on: October 16, 2019, 10:35:18 »

I was thinking about incidents such as these when I saw this in a leaflet promoting the Gotthard Panorama Express which I picked up a couple of weeks ago on a train from Zurich.

Thanks to Graham for help on uploading images.

« Last Edit: October 18, 2019, 10:11:09 by Gordon the Blue Engine » Logged
grahame
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« Reply #19 on: October 16, 2019, 16:42:57 »

From The BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) - a more reader-friendly report with some pictures from today' full publication.

Quote
A woman was killed as she leaned out of a train window below an inadequate warning sign, a report said.

Bethan Roper, 28, was hit in the head by a tree branch while on board a Great Western Railway (GWR (Great Western Railway)) service travelling at about 75mph (120km/h) near Twerton, Bath.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB (Rail Accident Investigation Branch)) also noted trees along the route had not been inspected since 2009.
Signs around the window were updated after Ms Roper's death.

The investigation said Ms Roper was returning to Penarth, South Wales, from Bath Spa station on 1 December 2018.
She was with friends, and the RAIB said it believed "at least one other friend leant out of the window before [Ms Roper]".

Witnesses told investigators Ms Roper had her head out of the window for a few seconds "before falling back into the vestibule".

Despite the efforts of other passengers, including some with medical training, she was pronounced dead at Bristol station, the report said.

The full report goes very much more thoroughly into how the tree branch came to be so close to the train and does not major on the signage the same way that the BBC report does.


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froome
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« Reply #20 on: October 17, 2019, 09:02:52 »

Is there any chance this thread could be renamed, as the incident happened nowhere near Temple Meads? Every time I see the thread name I think "Oh no, has someone died at Temple Meads now?" and then find it is referring to last year's sad incident at Twerton.
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Red Squirrel
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« Reply #21 on: October 17, 2019, 11:08:16 »

Is there any chance this thread could be renamed, as the incident happened nowhere near Temple Meads? Every time I see the thread name I think "Oh no, has someone died at Temple Meads now?" and then find it is referring to last year's sad incident at Twerton.

I've added 'December 2018' to the thread title - I take your point that the accident didn't happen there, but I don't wish to confuse things further.
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #22 on: May 26, 2021, 22:15:33 »

From the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Quote
Train passenger leaning out of window died after branch hit her


Bethan Roper was pronounced dead by paramedics at Bristol Temple Meads station

A woman died after she leaned out of the window of a moving train and was hit by a tree branch, an inquest heard.

Bethan Roper, 28, from Penarth, Glamorgan, suffered fatal head injuries on the Great Western Railway service at Twerton, between Bath and Bristol.

Fellow passengers gave her CPR but she was pronounced dead at Bristol Temple Meads station in December 2018.

An accident inspector said a lack of inspections on the line was "possibly causal" to the accident.

The train was travelling at around 75mph when the accident happened on 1 December, Avon Coroner's Court was told.

Miss Roper had been returning home with friends from a day out Christmas shopping in Bath.

Mark Hamilton, an inspector with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, told the inquest that one of Miss Roper's group of friends opened the window, and at least one of the group leant out.

He said: "But around two and a half minutes after the train departed Bath Spa station, Bethan leant out of the window and a few seconds later she fell backwards having sustained a serious head injury.  The simple conclusion we have drawn from the evidence presented was that Bethan's head came into contact with a lineside tree and that tree was growing on Network Rail infrastructure."

Mr Hamilton said mandatory tree inspections should be carried out every five years, however Network Rail had not inspected that part of the line since 2009.

Mr Hamilton said it may have been deemed the branch was "insufficient to pose a risk of derailment" and mandatory inspections do not set out the risks to passengers on the train.  However, had an inspection been carried out in accordance with the industry's standard then "the diseased tree might have been identified", he said.

The inspector said yellow signs were used inside the train to warn passengers not to lean out of the window when it was moving, but the word "caution" suggested someone could put their head out of the window "with a degree of care".

Although the signs complied with industry standards, the RAIB (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) considered red as "a better colour to convey danger", he added.

Toxicology tests showed Miss Roper's blood alcohol level was about twice the legal limit for driving.

Pathologist Dr Karin Denton said judgement and coordination "would be impaired" at that level.

Mr Hamilton said it was not possible to know how much effect the alcohol had on Miss Roper.

A statement read to the jury on behalf of Miss Roper's father, Adrian Roper, described his daughter as "an inspirational and much-loved woman", who worked for the Wales Refugee Council, volunteered at a foodbank and supported many charities.

The inquest is expected to last just over a week.

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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
grahame
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« Reply #23 on: June 05, 2021, 05:10:14 »

The inquest has concluded - report in the Penarth Times

Quote
Following five days of evidence, an inquest jury returned a majority conclusion of a narrative conclusion.

They said: “Bethan died as a result of an incident onboard a train travelling from Bath to Bristol Temple Meads on December 1 2018.

“Bethan boarded the train under the influence of alcohol. Despite a warning sign she leant out of a droplight window while the train was moving.

“She was struck by a stem of a tree sustaining a fatal head injury.”

I found the full article in the Penarth Times worth reading as a closure on the death of Bethan Roper.   In the 30 months since her passing, GWR (Great Western Railway) has withdrawn their final HST (High Speed Train) drop-window carriages. It was a process that was underway in any case. There have been studies and recommendations in some detail to find out just how that tree 'stem' came to be so close to the passing train as well.

Railways have become incredibly safe over the years but very occasionally indeed a combination of risks and imperfections leads to an accident and occasionally within those occasions it can lead to injury or even death. Sadly, that's what happened here.  Rest in peace, Bethan, at least in the knowledge that our system has analysed and learned from what went wrong to help ensure that even the rare co-incidence of imperfections could not happen again.



Edit to add - the conclusion of the inquest is reported in many other media outlets including the Daily Mail, the Mirror, the Independent, ITV and Wales Online

« Last Edit: June 05, 2021, 09:24:58 by grahame » Logged

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bobm
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« Reply #24 on: June 05, 2021, 08:44:13 »

Quote
GWR (Great Western Railway) has withdrawn their final drop-window carriages. It was a process that was underway in any case.

Not really the time or place to be pedantic but they still exist on the sleeper stock don’t they?
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grahame
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« Reply #25 on: June 05, 2021, 09:23:53 »

Quote
GWR (Great Western Railway) has withdrawn their final drop-window carriages. It was a process that was underway in any case.

Not really the time or place to be pedantic but they still exist on the sleeper stock don’t they?

I suspect they do - I'll go back and add "HST (High Speed Train)" in my previous post to keep it clean for the future.  I also note, I believe, that there are drop windows on heritage / charter trains, including the Midland Pullman - most of which will be much more heavily staffed.
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« Reply #26 on: June 05, 2021, 09:36:32 »

Quote
GWR (Great Western Railway) has withdrawn their final drop-window carriages. It was a process that was underway in any case.

Not really the time or place to be pedantic but they still exist on the sleeper stock don’t they?

I suspect they do - I'll go back and add "HST (High Speed Train)" in my previous post to keep it clean for the future.  I also note, I believe, that there are drop windows on heritage / charter trains, including the Midland Pullman - most of which will be much more heavily staffed.

The sleeper stock now has [what's not yet been dubbed] CWL - "Central Window Locking".
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