Kent train derailed after hitting herd of cows
 

A passenger train has been derailed after hitting cows on a line in Kent.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-33671351

One carriage came off the rails when the herd was struck by the train, according to operator Southeastern. No passengers were injured.
Sixty-five passengers were helped to safety and Network Rail has shut the line. A spokesman said it was thought five cows had been killed.
Network Rail said it had received a report of a stray cow on the line about an hour before the derailment.
That report was investigated but nothing was found.


It has also emerged that after the collision, the train driver jumped out of the cab and ran down the track to halt an approaching train because he had realised his radio had stopped working.
Southeastern said the driver then contacted the signaller through the radio of the second train to switch off the power to the lines.
The collision is being investigated by British Transport Police (BTP) and rail accident investigators have been told.

http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/304/c...5_84499744.jpg

Passenger Jonathan Calder tweeted a photo showing the carriage next to his tilting
BTP said the incident happened at about 21:45 BST on Sunday and involved an eight-coach train which was travelling from London Charing Cross to Ramsgate.
Emergency crews initially thought two carriages had been derailed.
Police said they could not comment on who owned the cows while the investigation was ongoing.
During the incident, passenger Jonathan Calder tweeted: "Everyone is fine but this train is going nowhere. Front coach derailed."
He later confirmed he had been able to get off the train and was "now having a cup of tea in a village hall".
Network Rail said the derailment happened in the Godmersham area, between Wye and Chilham.
Passengers were taken to nearby Godmersham village hall while alternative travel arrangements were made.
Engineers remained at the scene on Monday assessing the damage caused.
Track damaged

Southeastern's managing director David Statham said the track, culverts and embankments on the railway had been damaged.
He said investigations would look into whether there had been earlier sightings of cattle on the line.
The line between Ashford and Ramsgate via Canterbury West will remain closed until Wednesday.
Buses have replaced trains on that stretch of line, and passengers have been advised to travel from Canterbury East to join a high speed service at Faversham or Ashford at no extra cost.
"We do need to make sure that Network Rail are doing all they can to keep line-side fencing secure and also that local farmers do all they can to make sure the railway is secure and livestock don't end up on the track," said Mr Statham.
Network Rail said fences in the location were inspected three weeks ago, and found to be in good condition.

Network Rail said fences in the location were inspected three weeks ago, and found to be in good condition.

Hey diddle diddle, if cows can jump over the moon, how will Network Rail ever keep them out?

Ah, GSM-R going belly up in an emergency situation seems to have passed unnoticed. No surprises there then. Great safety system that is proving to be. :eek:

Agree quite strange as it should have Battery back up

but three weeks NR checked the fence
How about the Farmer checking it when he put his stock in ???

You're right about battery back up. Many units can even even draw power for the radio & PA straight off the main battery even when the unit is cut out.

But when they said the radio didn't work I suspect it wasn't a power supply problem

GSM-R has a long running connection issue. Sometimes when you call the signaller, you end up talking to a person on the wrong panel, or even on a different line. This has existed since its inception and seems no closer to being fixed.

At least with the old analogue Cab Secure Radio it showed on the display a 2 digit code so you knew which box/panel/workstation it was tuned to.

BW

The train was recovered on Wednesday 29th. Unusually, the power cars from Hastings Diesel Ltd's preserved 'Thumper' unit were used to move the stricken class 375.

https://twitter.com/HastingsDiesels?...65047217246208

Tony

Another video of the rescue here, clearly showing that the leading bogie of the 375 is on wheel skates, as a result of the damage sustained during the derailment. According to the person who posted the video on youtube, the max speed was 5mph, due to the use of the wheel skates. The stricken 375s were apparently taken to Ramsgate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHedP-1ySFw

Tony

Wow, that must have been mind-numbingly tedious.

When using skates it's up to the RST (Rolling Stock Technician) what speed the train runs at, but they usually play safe and stick to 5 mph - especially over points and crossings. The RST usually rides with the train to oversee it.

I once had a to take a pair of 319s from Moorgate to Cricklewood sidings over the Widened Lines like that. A traction motor had seized on one unit (not unusual), so I attached another unit to it and drew the train out into the tunnel so the maintenance crew from Cauldwell could work on it. I took a possession out on the 2 Thameslink platform lines at Moorgate, and they then jacked the affected bogey up so they could slip the skates underneath.

I started off moving at 5 mph as advised, but after 45 minutes we'd only just made it to Clerkenwell No 1 tunnel. The RST buzzed me up from the leading cab of the rear unit and said "stuff this, do 15". I queried it but he said that since the rails on that section of line are bolted onto a concrete raft it would be ok.

So we did, thank goodness.

BW