Report 06/2021: Near miss with a member of staff at Rowlands Castle station

Summary

At about 19:14 hrs on Saturday 19 December 2020, a Network Rail Mobile Operations Manager (MOM) came close to being struck by a passenger train at Rowlands Castle station. The MOM was on the track retrieving a rubbish bag when the train approached at about 60 mph (97 km/h). The MOM climbed back onto the platform and was clear of the line about one second before the train passed.

The incident occurred because the MOM had not arranged protection from train movements before going onto the track, the MOM and the signaller did not have a mutual or accurate understanding about the reality of the situation, and because the MOM was otherwise unaware that the train was approaching. Underlying these causes are factors associated with the MOM’s competence, which was not adequately managed to ensure he worked safely on the track, and local management not functioning properly, which probably affected the recruitment, training and ongoing monitoring of the MOM.

Although not causal to the incident, RAIB observed that voice communications were not recorded due to a fault with equipment at the signal box. RAIB also observed that the automatic station announcements were not providing adequate warning to passengers of non-stopping trains at Rowlands Castle.

Recommendations

RAIB has made four recommendations and identified three learning points. Three of the recommendations are addressed to Network Rail and concern the competency framework for MOMs as well as management arrangements for operational response staff, at both local and national level. The fourth recommendation is addressed to South Western Railway and is aimed at ensuring safety-related announcements at stations are made in a timely manner. The learning points highlight the importance of processes associated with safe systems of work and safety-critical communications, as well as addressing the observation on voice communications recording.

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: 29 September 2021