Thursday 22 Apr 2004
STANDEDGE TUNNEL EMERGENCY EXERCISE
- Region & Route:
Network Rail and British Waterways will host a full scale response multi-agency exercise at Standedge Tunnel, between Marsden and Diggle on Sunday 25 April to test the emergency plans for the tunnel complex.
Standedge is a unique complex of four tunnels, one having the railway running through it, another with the canal running through it and two further disused tunnels, all interconnected.
The multi-agency event will see the railway industry working alongside the local emergency services, British Transport Police, and the National Trust as well as the voluntary organisations such as the Oldham Mountain Rescue Team and RAYNET (Radio Amateurs Emergency Network).
The fictitious scenario will involve an accident on the railway inside the tunnel. Organisations involved will use the exercise to test site management and coordination, vehicle management, communications and search and rescue skills. This event builds upon an earlier multi-agency tabletop exercise run in Oldham in October 2002.
Each agency has an emergency plan and the exercise will show how these dovetail together and should any shortcomings be identified, further work will be done to improve these plans.
- more -
Standedge - 2
In order to comply with Safety Case Regulations, Network Rail and its rail industry partners carry out several such events, throughout the country annually. It is an opportunity to demonstrate the industries preparedness to deal with a major incident. The organisations taking part in the exercise will aim to provide a co-ordinated approach to incident management.
Richard Fenny, Regional Director, Network Rail said: “We have been delighted 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”.
The exercise is taking place in the disused railway tunnels and will not impact upon the running of railway services through the tunnel. Passengers passing through the area, or using Marsden station on the day, will see the emergency services on site but should not be concerned, this is all part of the exercise. The boat trips into the tunnel will be suspended for the day.
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk
