Thetford train crash

[RushesToo]

This is terrifying, the tractor that was hit by a train in Thetford had received permission to cross the line. He was half way across was hit by a train travelling at 84mph.
http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/tractor_...ar_thetford_had_permission_to_do_so_1_4505665

 

[RushesToo]

Just what on earth was going on, warning lights intentionally decommissioned and the tractor driver given permission. Anyone using crossings in East Anglia needs to not trust anything that says you are safe to cross. Get out and look, and if trees need to be cut down for line of sight insist that it is done immediately as a health and safety issue.

 

[JP1]

Agreed . Terrifying

 

[llamedos]

Investigation into a collision between a passenger train and a tractor at Hockham Road level crossing, Norfolk, 10 April 2016.

Image showing damage to train 1K77
At 12:30 on Sunday 10 April 2016 a train travelling from Norwich to Cambridge collided with an agricultural tractor and trailer at Hockham Road level crossing. The tractor driver was seriously injured, and the train driver and several passengers received minor injuries. The tractor was destroyed, and the train was badly damaged.

Hockham Road level crossing is on a private road near Thetford, Norfolk, and also carries a public footpath. Vehicle users must open and close the crossing gates themselves, and at the time of the accident they had to use the telephone to obtain permission from a signaller at Cambridge, before going over the crossing. In 2012, the crossing had been provided with red and green lights which informed users whether it was safe to cross, but this equipment had been intentionally decommissioned at the time of the accident.

The tractor driver was given permission to cross the line, and had reached the mid-point of the crossing when his vehicle was struck by train 1K77, the 12:03 Norwich to Cambridge service, which was travelling at 84 mph (135 km/h). There were 135 passengers and two crew on the train, which did not derail and came to a stop 410 metres beyond the crossing.

Image showing the trailer and tractor debris following the collision
The trailer separated from the tractor and struck the side of the train several times, breaking windows and puncturing the outer body of the train, before coming to rest next to the tractor at the side of the railway line. The driving cab of the train was severely deformed by the impact, and the driver’s door broke away.

Our investigation will identify the sequence of events that led to the accident. It will also consider:

• any factors which may have influenced the actions of the people involved
• the method of authorising vehicles to use the crossing
• the history of the crossing equipment
• the performance of the train during the collision
• any underlying management factors.

Our investigation is independent of any investigation by the railway industry, the Office of Road and Rail, and the British Transport Police.

We will publish our findings, including any safety recommendations, at the conclusion of our investigation; these will be available on our RAIB website.

Credit: RAIB

 

[digger don]

Wow!! Lucky guy

 

[Bloders]

Just what on earth was going on, warning lights intentionally decommissioned and the tractor driver given permission. Anyone using crossings in East Anglia needs to not trust anything that says you are safe to cross. Get out and look, and if trees need to be cut down for line of sight insist that it is done immediately as a health and safety issue.

With a train travelling at 80 mph, or even 50, your line of sight needs to realitically be over a mile.
No point in reality getting off, as by the time youve got back on the machine, the train could easily have covered a mile or two.
I dont know what went wrong here, but it is very, very concerning if the tractor driver was given permission to cross, then there arre some fundamentals which NWR have missed out. In my opinion only of course.

 

[Yale]

Given permission to cross......

 

[Bloders]

Given permission to cross......

yep, going to be interesting this one. permission would have been granted from the signaller - would not want to be in his shoes im afraid.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

I'm pretty sure that these conversations are recorded.

 

[Landy Nick]

Be some hefty compensation coming his way.
I wonder if they open the gates first, then phone the signal box.
As said once given the nod to cross, a valuable minute or two can be lost opening the gates and jumping back into the tractor.

 

[Bloders]

Be some hefty compensation coming his way.
I wonder if they open the gates first, then phone the signal box.
As said once given the nod to cross, a valuable minute or two can be lost opening the gates and jumping back into the tractor.

Might be wrong but i dont think so.
If the signaller says you are safe to cross, he wont allow a train into that section until you have confirmed your across. This is why it is so important to confirm you have safely crossed.
Essentially, the signaller is giving you the se ction of track until your off, and therefore, he should not give it to anyone else at the same time.

Im intrigued why the lights were disabled, as they would effectivly automatically (I assume) say if there was a train in the section or not.

 

[llamedos]

It must have been horrifying seeing a train bearing down on him at that speed, no time to react at all.

 

[neilo]

Be some hefty compensation coming his way.
I wonder if they open the gates first, then phone the signal box.
As said once given the nod to cross, a valuable minute or two can be lost opening the gates and jumping back into the tractor.

They don't give you permission to cross if you only have a few minutes.

I used to regularly use a crossing over the main Birmingham to Paddington line. If the train had left a station ten miles up the line, you were denied permission until it had passed. Always had to ring after crossing to confirm the line was clear too.

 

[madmatt]

I have to use crossings ocassionally. We are lucky in that there are always two of us so we stop open the gates and while one sits in the machine the other uses the phone to call the signal box and usually stays on the line while we cross. I am afraid we have once been told its safe to cross and just as i rolled the tractor forward a yard the hand went up to stop and i stood on the brake 10 seconds later a train whistled by, humans make mistakes its a sad fact of life.

 

[Shovelhands]

I used a crossing on a farm I was on last year, only a branch line, thankfully not a fast one, one line, and I was back n forth like a yo yo, I felt like I'd made a friend by the end of the day calling the controller every fives minutes. On the last crossing the guy thanked me for my patience and making the effort to open n close gates all day and call every time, i did think it strange , it was for my safety, and others of course, but if your gonna do it then do it right!
But I was held at the gate a few times and had to wait, as the train was in the section, the guy knew the train had passed a certain station but had no idea where the train was exactly! I couldn't believe in this day and age that they don't know where exactly every train is?
I can see how easily these things can go wrong, possibly if there had been accurate data as to the exact position of the train then possibly this poor chap would not have been put in such a position, unless there was? Then it makes it even worse.

 

[Bloders]

under block signalling system, the signaller will know the train is in a section, but no idea where within a section.
a section can be as little as 100 metres, or as much as several miles.
so if its a long section, the signaller would not know where the train is other than it is between two places, which are miles apart.
perfectly safe, as long as, your as patient as you were and wait

ERTMS, they know where the vehicle is.

 

[Will 1594]

Given permission to cross......

They usually ask what your crossing with no you have to tell them how long it will take you to cross. Then they tell you when you can cross used to cross a busy line regular. And even if you could cross in a minute in van you could be waiting many minutes for train to come then ring again when you see it pass then start again. So will be interesting to know the outcome of what ACTUALLY happened

 

[Princess Pooper]

Farmer next to us was almost wiped out (the tractor was, ended up in 2 pieces) about 10 yrs ago, he had also been given permission to cross. That was not the usual unmanned crossing (although he has several of those on his land) but one on a small public road with locked barriers and 24/7 there is a man in a hut that phones up and then comes and unlocks the gates to let you through.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

under block signalling system, the signaller will know the train is in a section, but no idea where within a section.
a section can be as little as 100 metres, or as much as several miles.
so if its a long section, the signaller would not know where the train is other than it is between two places, which are miles apart.
perfectly safe, as long as, your as patient as you were and wait

ERTMS, they know where the vehicle is.

Is the Cambrian Line still the only ERTMS signalled line in Britain?

 

[Bloders]

Is the Cambrian Line still the only ERTMS signalled line in Britain?

i think so - as you probably aware, it was the trial line for UK.
I have a friend in Norway whos been over to it, as they are implmenting ERTMS there also - kind of obvious i suppose as its a europe wide system.

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/12275.aspx