Damaged rail mainline to reopen (BBC News)
 

The West Coast railway line, damaged when freight containers fell onto it, is set to reopen on Monday.

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I don`t understand what has happened here. When the containers came off on Shap the driver had gone another 50 miles before they knew they had lost them. The intermodal wagons had not gone over with the containers which means the twistlocks that hold the containers fast on the wagon where not locked properly. Can anyone think or know any different ?

[QUOTE=G6 UXU;13974]The intermodal wagons had not gone over with the containers which means the twistlocks that hold the containers fast on the wagon where not locked properly.[QUOTE]

Seems the most logical reason, if the intermodal wagon had gone over this coul have been a lot worse.

I guess there will be many diverting via MML, ECML and Chiltern line to get to London today.

Im suprised nothing hit them coming in the opposite direction given the driver knew nothing about loosing them and the distance traveled.

For four to be lost, it would think that none of them where locked down !

Who is responcible for them being checked? driver or loader?

Chris,
Although a Freightliner spokesperson said that "the containers would have been locked onto the wagons" I believe that modern railway container wagons don't actually have twistlocks. The containers are simply located on spigots.
Apparently it is a UIC standard arrangement and is used throughout Europe and the rest of the World. There must have been some really freaky wind conditions for containers to be blown off two different trains at opposite ends of the country.

Hello John, thanks for that. It scares me to death to think that this can happen, just imagine if a passenger train was going the opposite way, frightening. It looks to me if they are using spigots they dont need to employ anyone to lock them like twistlocks need to be. I hope they have got the safety people involved and do something about it because it should be impossible to happen regardless of the wind strength.

I agree Chris. I'm sure that many risk assessments were carried out before trains were allowed to run with unsecured containers but it can only be to save time and money. It will be interesting to see what the RAIB have to say in their report.