Derailment near Carlisle - 19/10/2022 - 1715 Clitheroe Castle Cement Gb to Carlisle N.Y. (6C00)

[ItsGrimUpNorth]

Well lets face it, they could have taken seven years. Nobody has missed the rail service and the cement traffic can easily go back to road haulage which is more reliable.

Those of us who use the Newcastle service regularly have!!!

 

[yorksrob]

As such a quantity of cement would take many lorries to transport, and like so many industries the shortage of staff to run those lorries is a real thing, would road transport really be more reliable? Besides the already mentioned fact that it would be far less environmentally friendly.

As for nobody missing the rail service, there's a good reason there are 2 or three trains an hour to and from Newcastle, and the trains to and from Leeds are running 3 or 4 carriages, they're needed! So when they can't run, guess what, that's a lot of people who miss them!

I suppose it depends on your definition of "needed". Do passengers use them because they run - yes. But would it cause serious harm to the local economy if they stopped running altogether (as is effectively the case right now)? I'm not convinced.

I've used the Appleby trains twice during this incident.

Once in the immediate aftermath and once about two weeks ago. On both occasions the trains were busy, and there also seemed to be plenty of people getting on and off the RRB at Appleby.

The passenger service has been running and it has been used.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Nobody? Doubt that very much, and as regards your other main point, the transportation of bulk materials around the country by rail has to be more environmentally friendly than doing so entirely by road.

Of course it is but until the railway is more responsive in these situations why would you shift your traffic onto rail. Lorries can deviate around issues trains can't but they could have done a lot more to keep services moving as at the end of the day a 100yds of railway was damaged. Yes a critical part but didn't stop operators working to a point of obstruction as far as they could but that's all too difficult in todays railway.

 

[Killingworth]

Of course it is but until the railway is more responsive in these situations why would you shift your traffic onto rail. Lorries can deviate around issues trains can't but they could have done a lot more to keep services moving as at the end of the day a 100yds of railway was damaged. Yes a critical part but didn't stop operators working to a point of obstruction as far as they could but that's all too difficult in todays railway.

I suspect that if this had been a wartime emergency the routes would have been reopened quicker using temporary tracks and possibly single line workings leaving full reconstruction and recovery until later. As it was some Northern ECS may have used one track.

How did output of ammunition from fairly nearby WW1 H.M. Factory, Gretna get moved around? By train. Part of that huge site is still open for storage of ammunition and has very good rail connections to the WCML.

 

[jkkne]

Well lets face it, they could have taken seven years. Nobody has missed the rail service and the cement traffic can easily go back to road haulage which is more reliable.

Quite frankly the most ridiculous comment on this entire thread.

Its been hugely missed by the communities along the route, the alternative direct bus is 1 hour longer and doesn’t serve half the areas the train does. The NE and Cumbria (esp Newcastle and Carlisle) are intrinsically linked economically, socially and physically. It’s a key route for the region.

However I expect you knew all this and are simply on a fishing expedition…there’s bite.

 

[TPO]

Of course it is but until the railway is more responsive in these situations why would you shift your traffic onto rail. Lorries can deviate around issues trains can't but they could have done a lot more to keep services moving as at the end of the day a 100yds of railway was damaged. Yes a critical part but didn't stop operators working to a point of obstruction as far as they could but that's all too difficult in todays railway.

Not quite true. Rail freight haulers can and do divert trains and not all heavy loads can divert that much on the road.

The motorway network is generally good in the more built up areas of UK but even on the m-ways there are restrictions on the heaviest HGVs in some surprising places, e.g. the bridge over the Usk immediately east of the Brynglas tunnels on the M4. There's also "Random Roadworks Roulette" to contend with (anyone who uses the m-ways much knows that 20:00 is "roadworks o'clock," when the cones come out to play and diversions can be, uh, interesting). Once you get onto A-roads, even Trunk roads, if an equivalent stretch of road had been damaged you might get a closure for a few weeks then be waiting much longer for full reconstruction, all the while having severe delays due to speed restrictions/lane closures. I think you also overestimate the ability of the hub-and-spoke logistics companies to divert trucks as the hubs are structured around a core motorway network, alternatives to which are limited. (Local deliveries are something else and something of an apples vs potatoes comparison).

The biggest limiting factors on the growth of railfreight at the moment are nothing to do with being unable to divert, rather they are shortage of (1) Drivers, (2) locomotives and (3) train paths. Unfortunately, it's difficult to resolve (2) whilst the govt hasn't decided the rail strategy beyond 2030 (electric locos as NR electrifies more, or look for diesel alternatives?) and (3) is out of the hands of FOCs. Yet still they compete successfully with road haulage and continue to win traffic from road to rail.

There's a lot that happens in todays railway and the idea of being "too difficult" is just untrue and not at all representative of the part of the rail freight industry that I work with.

TPO

 

[The Planner]

The biggest limiting factors on the growth of railfreight at the moment are nothing to do with being unable to divert, rather they are shortage of (1) Drivers, (2) locomotives and (3) train paths. Unfortunately, it's difficult to resolve (2) whilst the govt hasn't decided the rail strategy beyond 2030 (electric locos as NR electrifies more, or look for diesel alternatives?) and (3) is out of the hands of FOCs. Yet still they compete successfully with road haulage and continue to win traffic from road to rail.

There's a lot that happens in todays railway and the idea of being "too difficult" is just untrue and not at all representative of the part of the rail freight industry that I work with.

TPO

(1) needs an asterisk, route cleared drivers as well. Instances where route knowledge is causing problems.

 

[DanBlanchflowe]

Just been able (if I wanted to!) to buy a ticket on 05.49 from Metro Centre (near me) to Carlisle, staying on the train. Only £3 on Northern site!!
So I assume the Tyne Valley line fully reopens tomorrow??
However they have not announced this on their 'disruptions' section of web site.

 

[Dai Corner]

Just been able (if I wanted to!) to buy a ticket on 05.49 from Metro Centre (near me) to Carlisle, staying on the train. Only £3 on Northern site!!
So I assume the Tyne Valley line fully reopens tomorrow??
However they have not announced this on their 'disruptions' section of web site.

all lines have been confirmed as reopening from the start of service on Wednesday the 7th of December.

Northern JourneyCheck - Train times and live real time delay/cancellation/disruption information.

Northern JourneyCheck provides real time, up-to-date train times and train disruption information keeping you informed about any delays or cancellations on the network and helping you know what to do when your journey is affected. Train Cancellations, Delays, Alterations and Engineering Work...

www.journeycheck.com

 

[Rail M]

Just been able (if I wanted to!) to buy a ticket on 05.49 from Metro Centre (near me) to Carlisle, staying on the train. Only £3 on Northern site!!
So I assume the Tyne Valley line fully reopens tomorrow??
However they have not announced this on their 'disruptions' section of web site.

All the final commissioning is currently being completed and is on track in readiness for the first services in the morning

 

[chiltern trev]

Network Rail spokesperson on BBC Radio Cumbria this morning said a concrete upstand has been put in place. To stop any wagons that derail at the junction from going down into the river again - to retain derailed wagons on the track.

 

[InkyScrolls]

The lines are now fully reopened, as of this morning (7/12/22).

 

[Ken H]

The lines are now fully reopened, as of this morning (7/12/22).

anybody from here on the first trains to/from Carlisle? I considered the early train from Settle but I am supposed to work today...

 

[snowball]

The latest press release, with several video clips:

Key Carlisle rail routes reopen for passengers after freight derailment

Rail passengers are being thanked for their patience after a freight train derailment cut off two key rail routes in Carlisle for seven weeks.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Rail passengers are being thanked for their patience after a freight train derailment cut off two key rail routes in Carlisle for seven weeks.

Since 6.00am this morning (Wednesday 7 December) direct trains are now running again on the Tyne Valley line between Carlisle and Newcastle and the Settle to Carlisle line between Carlisle, Appleby and Skipton.

Network Rail engineers have been working around the clock to restore the railway at Petteril Bridge junction after a train carrying powdered cement left tracks on Wednesday 19 October.

Huge damage was caused to a Victorian-built railway bridge, railway lines and signalling equipment during the incident.

More than 25,000 hours of work has taken place to get the railway restored so trains can run again.

Drone footage has been released today (Wednesday 7 December) showing some of the first passenger trains to pass over the new tracks and strengthened bridge.

Mark Evans, Network Rail senior programme manager, said: “I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we worked tirelessly to get the railway back up and running after it was severely damaged by the freight train derailment.
“This has been a very complex recovery and repair job. Now it’s complete this major railway junction is future-proofed and has been strengthened in the very rare event anything like this should happen again meaning more reliable journeys for passengers and freight for years to come.”

Kerry Peters, regional director at Northern, said: “We have been working very hard with Network Rail to reopen the railway at Petteril bridge following the freight train derailment in October.
“Now that work is complete, Northern services have resumed on both the Tyne Valley and Settle to Carlisle lines – and we have allocated extra advance purchase fares to welcome people back on-board. We’d like to thank our customers for being patient during this disruption and everyone involved in getting our passengers moving again.”

Over the last seven weeks

• Forensic rail accident investigators assessed the cause of the derailment
• The locomotive and 11 of 14 wagons carrying powdered cement were recovered soon after the incident
• Giant vacuums removed 80 tonnes of powdered cement from 3 wagons which needed lifting
• Environment Agency experts made sure no contamination entered the river Petteril
• An 800-tonne crane recovered those wagons which ended up in the water and on the embankment
• Eighty metres of damage track was replaced
• 400 metres of cabling was installed for signals and points
• Replacement of two switches – moving sections of track which enables trains to switch lines
• 125 tonnes of structural concrete was poured into 16 tonnes of metal reinforcement cages to repair the damaged railway bridge over the river
• The work took 25,000 hours, over 40 people working 7 days-week, for 7 weeks.

Passengers are being advised to check before they travel if planning journeys over the festive season by visiting www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest information.

 

[ainsworth74]

Northern tweeted the other day that they've made more APs available between Newcastle/Leeds and Carlisle as a thank you for people's patience which I thought was canny bit of marketing (not that they've publicised it very much!):

We have allocated extra Advance Purchase tickets from £3 to thank you for your patience.

Newcastle & Carlisle from £3.00
Settle & Carlisle from £8.50
Leeds & Carlisle from £12.50

Buy now: https://buytickets.northernrailway.co.uk

https://twitter.com/northernassist/status/1600235556612423680

 

[InkyScrolls]

I work the line and I didn't know!

 

[wilbers]

There are some surprisingly cheap advances around. That said, I've never had one of the £3 ones - towards Newcastle and NE its been off-peak day returns for me (and some of those have been drive Hexham->train onwards, especially useful when going further than Newcastle).

 

[geoffk]

The biggest limiting factors on the growth of railfreight at the moment are nothing to do with being unable to divert, rather they are shortage of (1) Drivers, (2) locomotives and (3) train paths. Unfortunately, it's difficult to resolve (2) whilst the govt hasn't decided the rail strategy beyond 2030 (electric locos as NR electrifies more, or look for diesel alternatives?) and (3) is out of the hands of FOCs. Yet still they compete successfully with road haulage and continue to win traffic from road to rail.

Shortage of locomotives surprises me as class 66s are still being returned from the continent; many 90s and 92s are in store, in fact many UK freight locos have been sold to railways in Eastern Europe. And there's still work for 37s!

 

[zwk500]

Shortage of locomotives surprises me as class 66s are still being returned from the continent; many 90s and 92s are in store, in fact many UK freight locos have been sold to railways in Eastern Europe. And there's still work for 37s!

Not sure about the 66s, but the 90s and 92s aren't a lot of good if the wires run out, which they usually do on freight routes!

 

[geoffk]

Not sure about the 66s, but the 90s and 92s aren't a lot of good if the wires run out, which they usually do on freight routes!

Yes but container trains for Felixstowe used to start off with electric traction and change at Ipswich. I have several photographs of these on the WCML up to around 2013. According to RTT some of them still operate like this.

 

[zwk500]

Yes but container trains for Felixstowe used to start off with electric traction and change at Ipswich. I have several photographs of these on the WCML up to around 2013. According to RTT some of them still operate like this.

Very few - operators dislike changing engines because of the additional staff costs. Big yards like Ipswich, Wembley and Crewe are busy enough to justify a shunter but you wouldn't be doing it too many times on each journey. Hence operators are buying bi- or tri-mode locos now.

 

[ainsworth74]

The RAIB have now released their report into this accident:

Summary​

At 19:53 hrs on Wednesday 19 October 2022, five tank wagons in a freight train that was conveying cement powder from Clitheroe, Lancashire, to Mossend, near Glasgow, derailed near Petteril Bridge Junction in Carlisle. A number of wagons were damaged and there was significant damage to the track and to the bridge over the River Petteril. This resulted in closure of the routes from Carlisle to Newcastle- upon- Tyne and to Settle for seven weeks. No one was injured.

The derailment occurred because one set of wheels on the ninth wagon in the train stopped rotating during the journey. These wheels had stopped rotating up to 55 miles (88 km) before the derailment and continued to slide along the railhead causing considerable damage to the profile of the wheel treads. This meant that the wheels were unable to safely negotiate a set of points just before Petteril Bridge Junction, damaging them and causing the ninth wagon to become derailed. Five of the wagons derailed due to the consequent track damage and two of them fell off the side of the bridge where the railway crosses the River Petteril. The ninth tank wagon was ruptured and landed upside down in the river, although very little of the cement powder was spilled.

The initial wheel slide was probably the result of a normal brake application made in low adhesion conditions that were not abnormal for the route at the time of year. The wheel slide continued because the adhesion between the wheels and the rails was then insufficient for the wheels to restart rotation.

The non-rotating wheels were not identified by the signallers on the route, nor by the train driver or any engineered system, meaning that the train was not stopped before it reached Petteril Bridge Junction.

Recommendations​

RAIB has made one recommendation to the railway industry to undertake work to understand the specific risks to freight trains in low adhesion conditions. RAIB has also made two recommendations to the railway industry relating to reviewing the railway Rule Book requirements for stopping and examining trains and the requirements relating to drivers looking back along their trains.

RAIB has also identified one learning point for signallers, reminding them of the circumstances in which they should stop trains for examination.

Report 10/2023: Freight train derailment at Petteril Bridge Junction

RAIB has today released its report into a freight train derailment at Petteril Bridge Junction, Carlisle, 19 October 2022.

www.gov.uk

 

[Gaelan]

These passages worry me:

The only indication that the [axle counter] system gives the signaller in a fault condition is for the indicator lamps associated with each section to remain lit, showing the track section as occupied.


The signallers reported that spontaneous axle counter section failures were not uncommon, and often all the sections would fail to clear and indicate occupied because of equipment faults. Network Rail provided data to show that 30 axle counter section failures had been recorded at Culgaith over an 11-year period, with 20 of those being multiple axle counter section failures. The result of this history was that the signallers at Culgaith were used to axle counter sections failing, and to following the associated instructions to reset them.

"It fails sometimes, don't worry too much about it" is a hugely dangerous attitude to have about safety-critical equipment. Stopping trains to inspect them is one piece of the solution, but it seems that better failure reporting from axle counter equipment, and a culture of fully investigating failures (whether the failure results from rolling stock or trackside equipment) also seem urgently necessary.

 

[HSTEd]

Well I guess time for my scheduled plugging of ECP braking, that would have detected the locked axle immediately and allowed the train to stop long before massive damage occurred.

But this sounds like a proper mess.

 

[RC42]

These passages worry me:

"It fails sometimes, don't worry too much about it" is a hugely dangerous attitude to have about safety-critical equipment. Stopping trains to inspect them is one piece of the solution, but it seems that better failure reporting from axle counter equipment, and a culture of fully investigating failures (whether the failure results from rolling stock or trackside equipment) also seem urgently necessary.

That’s not what the report said though is it? Nowhere does it say in the report that anyone said “don’t worry too much about it” I’d say it was hugely dangerous to read a report and then start to imply anything. The report also states that the staff followed the specific axle counter instructions published for that line.

 

[Gaelan]

That’s not what the report said though is it? Nowhere does it say in the report that anyone said “don’t worry too much about it” I’d say it was hugely dangerous to read a report and then start to imply anything.

Dangerous how? I'm speculating out of interest; I'm under no illusion my words here will have any effect on how the railway is run. (And, even if someone involved was reading this thread, they'd have the knowledge to dismiss anything resulting from my incorrect speculation.)

Without access to the instructions (which I don't believe are public) or knowledge of what happens in practice, I can only speculate based on what's in the report; but from the report, it sounds like the procedure was to verify that the train had left the block, then reset the system, without much in the way of further investigation. There's also a statement in "None of the data for the recorded multiple failures suggested that a stop and examine had been initiated for a train, although the data was not always clear on the cause and the actions taken." (p152) which supports this theory - if they routinely investigated the causes of failures and attempted to remedy them, it seems likely that this would be noted when the failure was recorded.

The report also states that the staff followed the specific axle counter instructions published for that line.

Sure - the changes I'm hoping for would likely involve a change to those instructions.

 

[GC class B1]

Well I guess time for my scheduled plugging of ECP braking, that would have detected the locked axle immediately and allowed the train to stop long before massive damage occurred.

But this sounds like a proper mess.

Would ECP braking have detected a locked axle?

 

[HSTEd]

Would ECP braking have detected a locked axle?

The axles on such trains are normally fully instrumented to detect hotboxes etc (it's a lot cheaper to stick a cheap sensor on the axle/axlebox than to fit a fancy trackside sensor). One of the other use cases cited for ECP is detecting wheelslide by using cheap sensors fitted to the axles to determine if they are rotating.
Using a hall effect sensor the cost of fitting will be measured in dollars per axle.

 

[RC42]

Dangerous how? I'm speculating out of interest; I'm under no illusion my words here will have any effect on how the railway is run. (And, even if someone involved was reading this thread, they'd have the knowledge to dismiss anything resulting from my incorrect speculation.)

Without access to the instructions (which I don't believe are public) or knowledge of what happens in practice, I can only speculate based on what's in the report; but from the report, it sounds like the procedure was to verify that the train had left the block, then reset the system, without much in the way of further investigation. There's also a statement in "None of the data for the recorded multiple failures suggested that a stop and examine had been initiated for a train, although the data was not always clear on the cause and the actions taken." (p152) which supports this theory - if they routinely investigated the causes of failures and attempted to remedy them, it seems likely that this would be noted when the failure was recorded.

Sure - the changes I'm hoping for would likely involve a change to those instructions.

The instructions which you say are not made public are in the report “if a section shows occupied during normal operation, you must make sure no trains or vehicles have been left in section. You can then go into failed mode”

The report does say ”It has also updated Unit 39 (Axle counters) of its National Operating Instructions (NR/OPS/NOI issue 10) to include a clause explicitly relating sequential failures to the Rule Book requirement to stop and examine trains. NR/OPS/NOI is intended to provide Network Rail staff with additional instruction and guidance relating to the requirements of the Rule Book.” so the changes you are hoping for have been implemented a month or so after the derailment.

 

[Gaelan]

The instructions which you say are not made public are in the report “if a section shows occupied during normal operation, you must make sure no trains or vehicles have been left in section. You can then go into failed mode”

I'm aware of that quote, but it still leaves some questions unanswered: what does "failed mode" mean? What is the process for returning from "failed mode" to normal operation?

The report does say ”It has also updated Unit 39 (Axle counters) of its National Operating Instructions (NR/OPS/NOI issue 10) to include a clause explicitly relating sequential failures to the Rule Book requirement to stop and examine trains. NR/OPS/NOI is intended to provide Network Rail staff with additional instruction and guidance relating to the requirements of the Rule Book.” so the changes you are hoping for have been implemented a month or so after the derailment.

I addressed this in my original post: "Stopping trains to inspect them is one piece of the solution, but it seems that better failure reporting from axle counter equipment, and a culture of fully investigating failures (whether the failure results from rolling stock or trackside equipment) also seem urgently necessary."

Inspecting trains is a (very!) good step, but I don't see how this would help with, say, detecting a failure in the axle counter itself that could lead to a train entering the block undetected.

Safety-critical equipment should not be allowed to fail 3 times a year for a decade. (And to the extent that these "failures" are not actually an issue with the equipment, the equipment needs to provide better information to the signaler to make this clear.)