The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has released a report after a train in Surrey derailed after hitting a section of rail.

The rail was left behind after engineering work and was fouling the track on the approach to Walton-on-Thames station.

With the rail being left, a passenger train was travelling towards the station at around 85mph on the 4th of March, 2024.

The front coach derailed and the train came to a stand around 500 metres beyond the point of derailment.

The rail had been left by the engineers who had been working on the line the previous weekend.

Checks after the work did not identify a section of redundant rail that was a potential hazard, this was because no person in charge had supervised the work and because a track handback engineer had not been briefed as to what work had been undertaken.

The investigation found that the planning and delivery arrangements had not effectively managed the risk of a section of track being left foul of the running line.

As a result of its investigation, RAIB has made two recommendations.

The first is addressed to Colas Rail (in consultation with Network Rail), to review its processes related to collecting redundant material when working on or near the line.

The second is addressed to Network Rail (in consultation with the Rail Safety and Standards Board) to review the rules and standards relating to how tasks delivered in complex work sites should be co‑ordinated and supervised and to create a coherent process for confirming that the line is safe for the passage of trains after the work is complete.

Additionally, two learning points have been identified. The first reinforces the importance of infrastructure maintainers arranging adequate site lighting.

The second concerns the importance of railway organisations ensuring that guidance material relating to superseded standards is removed from resource libraries when new standards are issued.

“Following a passenger train striking redundant rail on the track in 2018, RAIB issued Urgent Safety Advice to Network Rail regarding safety of the line after engineering work. Since this advice was issued, RAIB has examined a number of further accidents caused by objects, including temporary road-rail access points and a trolley, being left on the track after the completion of maintenance work. These accidents caused damage to the railway infrastructure, the trains involved and resulted in temporary closures to the affected lines. This most recent accident at Walton-on-Thames resulted in a passenger train derailing at speed. Although no one was hurt on this occasion, the train could easily have deviated from the line of the track and struck other trains or objects.

“Maintenance work is often carried out at night which makes ensuring the line is subsequently safe for the passage of trains particularly challenging. The risk is very clear. Unfortunately, this accident happened because that risk was not effectively managed. This, following other similar recent incidents, should serve as a stark reminder of the importance of effectively managing the risk of objects being left on the track after overnight maintenance.”

Andrew Hall, Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents