Author Archives: HM Government

Environment Agency officers from teams across England have conducted an intelligence-gathering operation at Harwich International Port in Essex focussed on the illegal export of waste.

The aim of the operation was to stop and check HGVs carrying waste in a bid to identify any waste materials which could have been being illegally exported to Europe.

Around 30 loads were stopped on the day, with paperwork checked and waste loads examined. Officers were seeking intelligence about waste that could potentially be illegal heading to the continent and assessing the supporting documents.

Field intelligence officers, port officers and members of the illegal waste shipments team were on hand to speak with drivers passing through the port, offering advice and support on transporting waste abroad legally. The team on site made use of the Environment Agency’s Incident Command Unit, enabling them to receive emailed paperwork from waste contractors when it was found to be missing.

Twenty-nine trailers were inspected in total, and 18 were found to be carrying waste. In each instance the paperwork was examined and in 9 cases there were missing or incomplete documents. These were eventually all completed with the support of Environment Agency officers and the vehicles were allowed to continue their journeys.

Chris Smith, National Intelligence Manager, whose team led the operation for the Environment Agency, said:

The sheer volume of material that we found today and prevented from being exported illegally is a big win, but our work isn’t finished. Today’s action sends a strong message that we will track down those involved in illegal waste activity. We intend to continue our inspections of waste at ports around all of England to ensure waste being exported is done so legally.

The effects of exporting waste illegally is harmful to the environment and the economy. It undercuts legitimate businesses and causes harm to human health and the environment in destination countries.

Waste crime is a serious issue diverting as much as £1 billion per annum from legitimate business and the Treasury. Since April 2011 the Environment Agency has invested £65.2 million in tackling it.

Anyone with information about suspected illegal waste operators should call Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.

The people of Rwanda participated peacefully and in great numbers in last week’s Presidential election, with a result which reflected the will of most Rwandans.

However, international observers, including from the UK, noted problems on polling day, though this followed a more open campaign than in previous elections. I hope that Rwanda will continue to improve its electoral system in advance of the 2018 parliamentary elections.

As a close and long-standing partner of Rwanda for many years, the UK looks forward to working with President Kagame on our shared priorities of development, peacekeeping, trade and the future of the Commonwealth.

The Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group (BFEG) was established in 2017. The group’s remit builds and expands upon that of its predecessor body the National DNA Database (NDNAD) Ethics Group (EG).

The BFEG will provide ministers and the Home Office with impartial, independent, balanced and objective ethical advice on all aspects of biometrics and forensics which fall within the purview of the Home Office. Advice will include, for example, consideration of the ethical implications of the exploitation of new and more rapid automated biometric and forensic technologies and their role in expediting the conviction of criminals whilst protecting the privacy rights of individuals and maintaining public confidence.

We are looking to recruit members from a variety of professions, including genetics, forensic science, biometric data, data protection, the police, social science, political science, medical science and law.

If you are interested applying for a position on the BFEG, further information can be found on Centre for Public Appointments website. The application deadline is Sunday 20 August.

Three non-executive directors have been appointed to the Board of Insolvency Service.

Summary

Just before 07:00 hrs on Friday 16 September 2016, a London-bound passenger train operated by London Midland struck a landslip at the entrance to Watford slow lines tunnel. The leading coach of the 8-car train derailed to the right. The train came to a halt in the tunnel about 28 seconds later with the leading coach partly obstructing the opposite track. About nine seconds later, the derailed train was struck by a passenger train travelling in the opposite direction. The driver of the second train had already received a radio warning and had applied the brake, reducing the speed of impact. Both trains were damaged, but there were no serious injuries to passengers or crew. However, had the first train been derailed only a short distance further to the right the consequences would have been much more severe.

The landslip occurred during a period of exceptionally wet weather. Water from adjacent land flowed into the cutting close to the tunnel portal and caused soil and rock to wash onto the track. The site had not been identified by Network Rail as being at risk of a flooding-induced landslip. Such a landslip had occurred at the same location in 1940, also causing a derailment. Drawings from the 1940s relating to a structure subsequently constructed to repair the slope were held in a Network Rail archive, but were not available to either Network Rail’s asset management team or the designers of a slope protection project which was ongoing at this location at the time of the accident. As a consequence, this project made no provision for drainage.

Both trains were crewed by a driver and a guard. The drivers each contacted the signaller to inform him of the accident and request the evacuation of passengers. The guards checked on their passengers to confirm that there were no casualties, and made regular announcements to keep passengers informed.

Recommendations

The RAIB has made six recommendations. Four recommendations are addressed to Network Rail relating to the improvement of drainage, improvement in the identification of locations vulnerable to washout, access by the emergency services, and to expedite a project intended to identify all drainage assets. One recommendation is made to the Rail Delivery Group, in conjunction with RSSB, to promote a review of the circumstances when bogie or infrastructure design could provide derailment mitigation. One recommendation is made to Siemens, the manufacturer and maintainer of the trains, to address issues relating to the securing and location of emergency equipment which came loose in the driving cabs of both trains when they collided.

The RAIB has also identified three learning points relating to issues identified during the investigation.

Simon French, Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents said:

The collision of a passenger train with a derailed train in Watford tunnel on the morning of 16 September last year serves as a reminder of why everyone in the railway industry continues to work so hard to manage risk – the collision of two trains in a tunnel is a scenario we all hoped never to witness.

The derailment of the 06:19 service from Milton Keynes could so easily have led to a catastrophic sequence of events were it not for two notable factors. The first was the sheer professionalism of the driver who, within moments of becoming derailed, had the presence of mind to apply the brake and then transmit an emergency message using the train’s ‘GSM-R’ radio. His actions alerted the driver of a train approaching in the opposite direction who immediately applied the brake. As a consequence, the northbound train had reduced speed from 79 to 34 mph before striking the derailed train a glancing blow. This reduction in speed may well have made a big difference to the eventual outcome.

The second mitigating factor was the slotting of one rail of the track in the gap between a gearbox and a traction motor on three of the axles, so preventing the derailed train deviating any further into the path of the approaching train. This unintended consequence of the train’s design probably made the difference between a glancing blow and something closer to a head-on collision.

We’ve seen this before – RAIB has previously observed trains staying in line following a derailment due to the configuration of bogie mounted equipment. Examples in the UK include derailments at Moy in 2005, Duncraig in 2007, Ardnarff in 2008, Barrow upon Soar in 2008 and Clarborough tunnel in 2010. International examples include the derailment of a Japanese Shinkansen at 204 km/h following an earthquake in 2004 (all Shinkansen trains were subsequently fitted with guide brackets to enhance the chance of effective guidance following a derailment) and a 270 km/h derailment of a high speed train in Taiwan in 2010. I am also aware that certain high speed lines, such as HS1, already have infrastructure features designed to reduce the likelihood of secondary collision in a double track tunnel.

We continue to urge the rail industry to carry out research into design features that may limit deviation of the bogies from the track during derailment, and to think about ways that such features can be specified in future builds of trains. Modern passenger trains have tended to perform well when derailed, and this is often due to guidance provided by elements of bogie mounted equipment – it would be regrettable if future opportunities to enhance this feature of train design were missed, or if such features were inadvertently designed out. There is also a need to think through how the infrastructure can be adapted to help guide derailed trains at high risk locations.

I recognise that there is a shortage of authoritative data on the dynamics of high speed derailment. However, useful research has already been undertaken in Sweden and Japan which the UK rail industry can learn from. I hope that the issue of post-derailment guidance is to be taken seriously in the future given the prospect of more trains on our existing network and even higher speeds on new infrastructure such as HS2.

For those involved, the aftermath of the collision must have been a difficult and distressing experience. The process of checking for injuries, reassuring passengers and then keeping them informed of progress with plans for evacuation required the railway staff on-board to remain calm and focused –which they did.

Although the staff on board the train responded well in this instance, some of our previous investigations have revealed a different story. I therefore urge train operating companies to consider their readiness to deal with unexpected events of this type – of particular importance are the arrangements to provide support and assistance to those on the train, especially when remote from a staffed station. Furthermore, the robustness of emergency plans should be evaluated by means of realistic training exercises and simulations.

Lastly, the landslip that caused the derailment occurred at a location that had not been identified as being at high risk (the previous landslip event at this location had occurred during the Second World War). Extreme weather events may cause earthwork failures anywhere on the network, and existing methods of assessing risk may never be a totally reliable method of predicting when and where they will occur. This leads me to conclude that more needs be done to ensure that the fundamental cause of so many earthwork failures, poor drainage, is properly addressed. – hence our recommendation in this area.

Notes to editors

1. The 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: 10 August 2017