Overspeeding incident at Dauntsey, Wiltshire - 12.08.2020

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) (Rail Accident Investigation Branch)

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^▸ (Great Western Railway)) service from London to Bristol travelled at around 117 mph (188 km/h) over an emergency speed restriction (ESR^▸ (Emergency Speed Restriction (see also EROS))) of 20 mph (32 km/h), near Dauntsey, Wiltshire. This incident did not result in any damage or injury.

snip

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^▸ (Temporary Speed Restriction)), 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^▸ (Rail Safety and Standards Board), 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.

[eXPassenger]

There was also a comment that the driver did not know the passenger train restriction had been applied that afternoon because NR^» (Network Rail - home page) had not told GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).

[onthecushions]

A case for approach control?

OTC

[stuving]

A case for approach control?

OTC

Would that be emergency approach control? Or just temporary?

Network Rail need to have a thorough think about their hierarchy of speed restrictions - TSR^▸ (Temporary Speed Restriction), ESR^▸ (Emergency Speed Restriction (see also EROS)), and transient ones like this (in force for five hours) - and about how their use of bits of paper to inform drivers interacts with other information systems.

[onthecushions]

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

Remember those flickering oil lamps!

OTC

[stuving]

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

Remember those flickering oil lamps!

OTC

And the estimated time for doing that is? Not before next heatwave, I think, which is what RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) will expect.

[grahame]

There was also a comment that the driver did not know the passenger train restriction had been applied that afternoon because NR^» (Network Rail - home page) had not told GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).

To emphasise that - from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

The RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) 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.

[onthecushions]

And the estimated time for doing that is? Not before next heatwave, I think, which is what RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) will expect.

Back to "bits of paper" then.

OTC

[IndustryInsider]

Back to "bits of paper" then.

Getting my investigators hat on, I would be interested to know whether the driver would have assumed the 125mph board had become displaced had the area not been fitted with ATP^▸ (Automatic Train Protection).  With ATP chips not being altered it could have given the driver an extra reason to believe that the sign had been displaced rather than in an area of no ATP where the driver would only have seen the signs and not expected any other warnings.  It can be assumed the driver was unsure having made an initial brake application, before deciding (unwisely, it has to be said) to make assumptions of a displaced sign.

For me, the ATP should match the lineside signage, and if it doesn't trains should continue to be verbally cautioned.  I'm not sure "bits of paper" would be the answer as that information can also be misinterpreted or changed during a shift.

[bobm]

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/18866181.gwr-train-driver-almost-100mph-track-speed-limit-wiltshire

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^▸ (Great Western Railway), the driver was not aware and assumed the speed limit side had fallen off the side of the track.

[Bmblbzzz]

This incident has hit the press!
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/the-driver-misled-passenger-train-4693975

[TonyN]

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

[southwest]

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

If it was a London to Bristol service it was obviously an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)), unless you know more about this than the press do?

[TonyK]

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

It seems the Post will always go out of its way to make sure that in railway stories, the picture will bear no relation to what was actually involved. The Post is not alone in this. A story in another similar paper about a two-car train breaking down because of a blocked diesel filter will undoubtedly be illustrated with a photo of a Pendolino at full tilt, unless it happened on the WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line).

[grahame]

Another incident which merits examination to see if there are parallel systemic lessons to be learned.

From the Rail Accident Investigation Branch

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.