The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has released its report into the near miss of a track worker at Chiltern Green in Bedfordshire.

The incident happened at about 09:53 on 23 April 2024 when a train travelling at 104 mph came very close to striking a track worker crossing an underbridge at Chiltern Green, between Harpenden and Luton Airport Parkway stations.

There was very limited space between the bridge parapet and the train, and as the track worker was stepping off the bridge, the train passed them.

The driver sounded the train’s horn and applied the emergency brake when they saw the track worker on the bridge.

Once the train had stopped, the driver reported the incident to the signaller; the driver was unsure whether the train had struck the track worker.

The track worker was carrying out telecommunications cable testing and was walking to rejoin their group after a welfare break.

They had walked over the bridge because they were unaware of any other way to walk back to the rest of their group, because the person in charge had not arranged for them to leave the group safely when taking a break and rejoin it afterwards.

The tester had crossed the bridge without an effective safe system of work in place, despite being aware of the associated risks.

However, their personal track safety competency and the associated rules for walking alone on or near the line did not prohibit them from crossing a structure with restricted clearance.

RAIB Observations

• Historically, limited clearance signage has been fitted to structures with restricted clearance if one of the warning safe systems of work can be used to cross them safely while trains are running.
• Network Rail has no inspection or maintenance regime for such signage, and its record of warning signage assets on its East Midlands route is incomplete.
• Although an adequate safe system of work was not in place, track workers continued to walk over the bridge while trains were still running.
• Changes to the rules were published after the incident to prohibit personal track safety competency holders from crossing a bridge with restricted clearance unless an appropriate safe system of work is in place.

Recommendations

• Keltbray Infrastructure Services Limited is to review and amend how it plans work on or near the line, so its staff can better understand how to manage and carry out their work.
• The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) will follow the relevant rail industry processes to review and amend as necessary the rail industry standard requirements for warning signage at structures with restricted clearance.
• Network Rail will maintain a record of its lineside signage assets, determine their required inspection and maintenance regime, and schedule them to be done.
• Network Rail is to reduce the risks to railway staff because of warning signage not being fitted to structures with restricted clearance.

Learning Points

• Staff involved in planning or carrying out work on or near a line should have a clear understanding of how the planned activities, including the walking elements, should be executed
• Information should be provided that clearly identifies access points to be used if a planned activity involves staff going to more than one access point and different sites of work.
• Emphasise the importance of not going into any area with a reduced space between a structure and the nearest running rail of an open line.
• Track workers involved in a near-miss incident with a train should understand how to exit the railway safely and how to seek assistance from the signaller if required.

Other recent investigations into near misses include a near-miss between a passenger train and the driver of a freight train just east of Nottingham railway station in January 2024, and a near-miss with track workers and collision with a tree near Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset in January 2022.