Investigation completed into Westport train collision

A collision between two trains in Westport earlier this year would not have occurred if the principles and instructions of staff rule books had been applied, according to railway safety inspectors.
The accident occurred when a freight train used for carrying timber crashed into an empty passenger train shortly before midnight on February 10th in a siding at Westport railway station.
As first reported by breakingnews.ie, the Intercity train had been moved in expectation of the arrival of the timber train into a siding.
The RAIU said the driver of the timber train had undertaken a number of shunting movements before propelling it down a siding which led to the collision with the front carriage of the Intercity train.
It claimed the physical damage was estimated at €100,000 although the full cost would not be known until remedial works were completed.
Iarnród Éireann claimed at the time that the collision arose from a “low-speed shunting movement” when empty timber wagons from the freight train made contact with an out-of-service parked passenger train.
The RAIU said it has examined CCTV footage of the incident and the on train data recorder as well as carrying out a review of staff competencies, the Iarnród Éireann rule book and measures taken since the collision.
The RAIU noted that a shunting plan for Westport station, which outlines the sequences in which the appropriate signals are required to complete a movement, does not include any safety related information for a shunter or driver.
It also observed that Iarnród Éireann had erected temporary and subsequently permanent markers following the collision to indicate the location of “fouling” points and the markers would provide a clear visual aid to shunters and drivers in relation to vehicles fouling the line.