An emergency response exercise was carried out yesterday, Thursday, 12th March, at Kidderminster station on the Severn Valley Railway.

Members of the emergency services, including teams from West Mercia Police, British Transport Police, West Midlands Ambulance Service, Hereford & Worcester and Shropshire fire and rescue services, working in partnership with teams from Network Rail, the Severn Valley Railway and West Midlands Railway, simulated a full-scale emergency.

Designed for emergency and railway teams to stay as prepared as possible, the exercise, codenamed Exercise Saber, was one of several similar exercises that regularly take place throughout the country to maintain the emergency services’ and railway operators’ operational readiness in case of an emergency.

The exercise simulated a collision between a hydrogen train, provided by Vanguard STS, and a diesel train, with 200 volunteers role-playing as passengers and other members of the public. The Severn Valley Railway provided two sets of locomotives and carriages and a location near Kidderminster Town station. There was no impact on operational main line services, and it took place when the Severn Valley Railway was not operating public services.

Martin Colmey, operations director for Network Rail Central, commented that safety is at the heart of everything it does, and these training exercises are vital to ensuring it can act quickly and effectively in a real-life emergency. The event was a success and helped to hone our emergency planning. Holding the event at a heritage railway meant an important exercise could be carried out in a live railway environment, but without an impact on mainline trains and passengers.

Network Rail has previously carried out exercises to test its emergency response plans in Cumbria and in a tunnel in the West Midlands.

“It was great to take part in this exercise alongside partner agencies. As a service, it’s vital that we’re prepared to deal with every large-scale emergency scenario we’re faced with. The day was a success with nearly 100 staff members from WMAS participating. A big thank you to everyone at WMAS and other agencies that took part and made the day possible.”

James Williams, head of emergency preparedness for West Midlands Ambulance Service

“Working as a team with Network Rail and other partners is key to a successful emergency response. Training scenarios like this allows us to test and hone our responses, so we are always prepared for real-life emergency situations. We are grateful to the Severn Valley Railway for hosting the exercise on site, ensuring day-to-day railway operations were unaffected.”

Simon Newell, safety, security and sustainability director at West Midlands Railway