Driver fatigue led to rail near miss, says report

The grinding train was pictured by rear-facing CCTV on the passenger train

A near miss between a maintenance train and passenger train in Leicestershire was partly caused by driver fatigue, a report has said.

The rail grinding train crossed tracks at Sileby Junction early on 5 May 2021 less than 10 seconds after the empty passenger train had used it.

Inspectors found the maintenance driver did not slow the train down enough before passing a danger signal.

They recommended a review of how driver shifts were monitored.

Grinding trains are used to remove imperfections and corrosion on rail lines during maintenance

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report found the driver had completed six night shifts before the incident, totalling 62 hours of work without a rest day.

Examination of the equipment on board the maintenance train, which was returning to a depot after overnight rail work, found the driver had not properly slowed the vehicle as it approached the junction at about 05:29 BST.

As it passed a danger signal, an automatic braking system was activated, but this was not enough to stop the train crossing the junction.

The report noted the driver had not taken any additional sleep, or eaten, while waiting to return the train.

It also said: "Analysis of [train] data suggests that the driver's reaction times to warnings became longer and more variable in the period directly preceding the incident.

"Witness evidence suggests that the driver may have had a microsleep after passing [a previous] signal."

The report also noted the risk assessment for the automatic braking system did not account for the different braking capabilities of non-passenger or some freight trains.

The RAIB has recommended Colas Rail UK, which employed the driver, should review and update its current fatigue risk management system but also noted work had already been done on this.

It also called for Network Rail to "develop and implement a process which identifies and accounts for the residual overrun risk associated with the operation of vehicles which have braking rates lower than those assumed".