Freight train driver involved in near miss on Nottingham rail track

A passenger train left Nottingham station after the freight train had been stopped

A freight train driver narrowly avoided being hit by a passenger service near Nottingham, according to a new report.

The train was stopped by signallers at Netherfield junction at about 09:30 GMT on 1 January after an alarm detected a fault.

The driver got out to examine the train and was stood "directly in the path" of a passenger service leaving Nottingham.

The train braked and sounded a horn, giving the driver enough time to move and avoid being struck.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said the near miss was caused by a lack of a "clear understanding".

'Unsafe position'

In its report published on Wednesday, the RAIB said the freight train - which was carrying petroleum products classified as "dangerous goods" - was stopped after activating a hot axlebox detector.

The vehicle was stopped by signallers and needed to be examined.

The RAIB said the signaller asked the freight train driver if vehicles on adjacent lines needed to be stopped, but they replied that a "line blockage would not be required".

No fault was found in the vehicle by the driver, with a mobile operations manager sent to the site telling signallers "it was safe for trains to pass on the adjacent line once the driver was back in their cab".

However, the driver had checked the wrong axle and the train needed to be re-examined, but they "did not request a line blockage for this second check, and the signaller did not ask the driver if they required one".

At around the same time, the passenger train was allowed to depart from Nottingham and travel towards Skegness.

The report said the driver then left the cab to go back to check the correct axle and "used their mobile phone to contact their manager".

The passenger train approached the location shortly after and its "driver observed that the driver of the freight train was in the passenger train's path".

Reviewing the incident, the RAIB said it showed "the importance of following correct safety critical communication protocols".

"The incident occurred because the driver of the freight train and the signallers involved had not reached a clear understanding about how the freight train was to be examined for any defects ," the report said.

"This resulted in the freight train driver being in an unsafe position as the passenger train approached."

A spokesman for Network Rail said it would review the findings of the RAIB report "to prevent these kind of incidents occurring again in the future".

They added: "We have carried out our own internal investigation and have implemented recommendations following on from it."