Seems that this incident occured due to a failure to identify who was rostered what role and failure to communicate. Even the most sensible of people will behave illogically when something happens that they don't expect. The thing now is to learn from it.
Richard

The whole process of railway safety has evolved over the last 200 years by investigating accidents and learning from the results. This process continues on both Network Rail and Heritage Railways.

Looking back over his previous posts I suspect that HM181 will never be convinced that those of us who work on Hertitage Railways are not, at best, certifiable idiots.

I do commend Nigel for efforts to try and prove otherwise and he knows that I am fully aware of the effects this accident has had on the staff working at Foxfield and the efforts made to learn from it.

I would again remind everyone who is willing to listern, that Hertitage Railways have to operate under the same rules and regulations that apply to the mainline system including all the attendant paper work.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Here is an un-safe practice, last week a light rail driver was photographed by a passenger doing a crossword puzzle while driving the train. Calgary Transit announced today, the driver is no longer with the company.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/colum.../17571781.html

Unbelievable. What a dumb thing to do at the best of times, let alone when the passengers can see into your cab.

I always throw any newspapers out of the cab when I take a train, because it's such a contentious issue nowadays.

(Changing tack slightly onto a nerdy vein - I've never heard of a camera with embedded GPS data before. Is this new, or am I slipping behind the times ?)

FP

I was told last night of an incident that was witnessed within the last few weeks on Network Rail.
A friend of mine was talking to a driver at Stafford station who had been stuck there for over 3 hours trying to make his way back to Crewe. A class 70 was on its way through northbound on a train of empty coal hoppers and the stranded driver had spoken to his colleague on the 70 to pick him up. The train slowed to somewhere around 15mph through the platform road and the driver on the platform made a running jump onto the loco!
Human nature being what it is this sort of thing will always take place no matter what rules and regulations are put in place.

With one little slip, that man could have slipped and been killed.
One of the first things I was told when I started on the railway, was This
No
Use
Rushing.
The more you rush the more mistakes you can make, some you get away with, and others you do not.
At Doncaster Belmont Yard, a member of staff decided to ride on a ballast vehicle which did not have the correct fittings for man riding. He got the sack.
Another EWS shunter in a private yard had a bad habit of driving a private 0-6-0 diesel shunter without training.
He was told and told again not to do this, but he still went on driving this engine. He came off the road. He was sacked. Years later he admitted that he was stupid.