Media centre

Thursday 24 Mar 2005

RAIL INDUSTRY TESTS EMERGENCY PLANS

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Network Rail, train operators, the emergency services and other agencies tested their plans for a major railway incident at a training exercise in Carlisle yesterday (Wednesday 23 March). The fictitious scenario was based on an incident on the railway that involved organisations from both sides of the England/Scotland border and was designed to test how the various organisations work together. Network Rail route director for Scotland Ron McAulay, who attended the exercise, said: “This scenario concentrated on issues surrounding a very complex incident that straddled the national boundary. That meant additional legal and technical issues as well as all the others that can arise at an incident of this type. It is essential that we all work closely together to ensure that we deal with any emergency in the most efficient way, should the need arise.” To comply with its licence to operate the railway, Network Rail and its industry partners are required to carry out several such multi-agency exercises throughout the country each year. It gives them the opportunity to demonstrate their readiness to deal with a major incident as well as training the staff in the complex issues that arise. The aim of the organisations that took part was to provide an integrated approach to incident management, response and investigation. Each agency has its own emergency plan and protocols to follow, and the exercise showed how these fit together. One aspect that was highlighted was the difference in the law either side of the border and how that affects such things as who has control of the scene and the preservation of evidence. The scenario was that an overnight sleeper train had been derailed after hitting an object on the tracks, and had then been in collision with a southbound express train. One train came to rest in Scotland while the other stopped in England.