Media centre

Friday 31 Mar 2006

RAIL INDUSTRY EMERGENCY EXERCISE

Region & Route:

Network Rail, English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS) and the emergency services hosted a full scale response multi-agency exercise at the EWS operations depot at Toton in Nottinghamshire on Wednesday 29 March. The fictitious scenario involved a scheduled train service derailing and a charter train hitting debris of the crash scene causing a second derailment. This allowed all agencies involved to test their emergency plans in this complex environment. The multi-agency event saw the rail industry working alongside the local emergency services: East Midlands Ambulance Service, Nottinghamshire Fire Service and Derbyshire Fire and Rescue service. This event allowed each agency to put into practice their emergency plans. The aim of the exercise was to show how agencies work together and identify any short comings, to be rectified in future planning. Dyan Crowther, Route Director for Network Rail said: “We are really pleased with the commitment shown by all agencies involved in the planning for this exercise. We are committed to safety on Britain’s railway and it is essential that we work closely together to ensure that we deal with any emergency in the most efficient way, should the need arise.” Christine Elliot, EWS Emergency Planning Manager, said: “Rail is the safest form of land transportation in Britain, and the industry takes its planning for emergency situations, should they arise, seriously. The simulated exercise at Toton enabled all partners to practice their emergency plans in a controlled environment.”