Rail body criticised by report on derailment

The train was carrying four passengers and four staff members when it came off the tracks near Grange-over-Sands

The company managing Britain's rail infrastructure has been criticised for inaction which led to a train derailing, after a temporary water pipe was left in place for years and damage was not repaired when it started leaking.

The train, which was carrying four passengers and four staff members, came off the tracks near Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria at about 06:00 GMT on 22 March 2024.

The Rail Accidents and Investigations Branch (RAIB) said "ineffective communications" meant on-call engineering staff were unaware the pipe, installed by Network Rail in 2016 to manage flood water, was still in use.

No-one was injured in the derailment but significant damage was caused to both the train and the infrastructure, leading to the line to being closed for a month.

The train was travelling at 56mph (90 km/h) when it derailed, after water made a hole in a section of the embankment above the rails, RAIB found.

The water came from a pipe under the railway which was damaged during routine maintenance about two days before the derailment.

Investigators found the damage had been immediately reported to the control room, but no action was taken to stop the leak.

The train derailed after water caused a hole in a section of the embankment

"Those responsible for managing flood water at this location had not done so effectively, leading to the prolonged need to rely on temporary pumping arrangements," the RAIB report said.

Investigators found there were not enough staff at Network Rail's Carnforth maintenance delivery unit, which had "allowed non-compliance with the standards relating to the management of tamping to become normalised".

Network Rail had also allowed a temporary pumping arrangement to become permanent without applying the relevant asset management procedures, the report said.

A specialist crane was used to rerail the train

RAIB has made five recommendations to Network Rail, including reducing the risk associated with temporary drainage solutions and ensuring staffing levels are adequate to comply with the operator's own procedures.

The branch asked Network Rail to review how it could improve the ability of tamper operators to detect buried services.

It also encouraged the Environment Agency, and other local stakeholders, to organise "timely decision-making in relation to the future of this area".

The final recommendation was to Eversholt Rail Leasing Limited, the owner of the train involved, to reduce the risk of a derailed train being struck on the adjacent railway line due to a failure of communications and warning systems.