A driver involved in the Salisbury train crash in October 2021 had not been warned to brake earlier, to allow for leaves on the line. And Network Rail had not effectively managed the risk of slippery rails.
These were two of the findings of a Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report into the crash between two trains on October 31 2021, at a junction immediately in front of Fisherton Tunnel.
Thirteen of the 197 passengers were taken to hospital. The South Western Railway driver, 74-year-old Robin Tandy, was seriously injured.
The RAIB report, published almost exactly two years after the crash, found that “a probable underlying factor” was that Network Rail’s Wessex Region “did not effectively manage the risks of low adhesion” during autumn leaf fall. It had also “not effectively managed the contamination on the railhead with either proactive or reactive measures”.
Additionally, SWR was “not effectively preparing its drivers” for dealing with the conditions. The crash occurred in a steep-sided cutting lined with self-seeded deciduous trees that were shedding their leaves, following unusually heavy rain and high winds in the 12 hours beforehand.
The impact, at 52mph, caused the front two carriages of a three-car SWR Class 159 to derail, and the rear two carriages of a four-car Great Western Railway Class 158 to derail. They came to a standstill, side by side, inside the tunnel entrance.
The SWR train had been running late and close to the line speed of 90mph, approaching Salisbury from Andover. Driver Tandy applied the brakes for a signal showing double yellow, followed shortly by an emergency brake application, with the intention of being able to stop at the next signal.
The train’s data recorder showed the wheels began to slide almost immediately, and the train’s wheel slip/slide prevention system (WSP) was active throughout.
Tandy’s competencies were up to date, and he had been based at Salisbury for his entire career, starting as a fireman on steam trains.
A Railhead Treatment Train (RHTT) had been due on that line only an hour and a half before the crash, but it had been rescheduled to later that night. It had been 32 hours since a treatment train had last passed Fisherton Junction.
The line was closed for 16 days. The collision caused extensive damage to both trains, to the track and to the tunnel entrance, and 900 metres of track and 1,500 sleepers needed replacing. The main A30 into Salisbury was also closed for more than a week.
RAIB also found that: “A potentially far more serious collision with an earlier train travelling in the opposite direction was avoided by less
