Track worker two seconds from being hit by 110mph West Coast Mainline train near Preston

The incident, which occured near the Euxton Junction on the West Coast Main Line on March 14, has this week been revealed by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.

What happened?

The track worker involved was a controller of site safety (COSS). At the time of the near miss, the COSS had been looking for a lineside location cabinet (LOC) to undertake scheduled maintenance work.

The COSS was alerted to the approaching train - which was travelling at 110 mph - by a shouted warning from a member of the public on a nearby footbridge and by the train driver sounding the train’s warning horn. The COSS managed to move to a position of safety approximately two seconds before the train reached their location.

The train involved in the near miss was the 11:36 hrs Glasgow Central to London Euston service, operated by Avanti West Coast. 

Avanti has been told it “must do better”

How did it happen?

At the incident location, there are four separate railway tracks - the Up Fast and the Down Fast, as well as the Up Slow and the Down Slow.

A report into the incident said: “This incident occurred because the COSS misidentified which of the railway lines at the location had been blocked to the passage of trains (known as a line blockage). Although signage at one of the access points used by the team correctly showed the layout of the track, the COSS did not recognise the error. The error was also not challenged by the other member of the team during a briefing given by the COSS.”

The report says the incident highlights the importance of following good practice for safety-critical communication when undertaking face-to-face briefings, regardless of familiarity with the task, location or staff involved, and the timely provision of safe work packs containing information that is relevant, and which accurately reflect the needs of the work to be undertaken, such as the location of key equipment.