Rail watchdog will investigate what caused trains’ near miss (From Surrey Comet)

Rail watchdog will investigate what caused trains’ near miss

9:25am Friday 21st July 2006

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The Government watchdog for railways is conducting its own investigation into the near miss between two trains in Surbiton in November, despite an internal report which said that frozen leaves were to blame.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is still investigating the incident on November 25 in which the 5.44am train from Alton to Waterloo skidded through two red lights, coming to a stop just 300 yards behind another train.

Network Rail last week commented on its findings after testing the train in Germany, but said the report would not be made public. It concluded that frozen leaves compacted into a Teflon-like layer had caused the skidding despite usual anti-leaf treatment of its lines.

A spokesman said: "Network Rail and our industry partners invest millions of pounds yearly to tackle these problems including using multi-purpose vehicles fitted with lasers to blast leaf mulch off the track, an extensive vegetation management programme, dedicated leaf-busting teams and extensive testing of trains in autumn conditions."

He added that it was still unclear why conditions were so bad in this stretch of track, and that everyone concerned would be keeping a close eye on the area this autumn.

Tony Adams, from Kingston Area Travellers Association, was sceptical that the Network Rail report had gone far enough, and called for a public report.

He said: "I think they should show us the report. What are they hiding? We are talking about a public rail service, not corporate research. They know we get autumn every year, so why weren't the tracks treated carefully?"

A spokesman from RAIB said its report would be published in full on its website, but could not give a date for when it would be.

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