An Irish Rail worker narrowly escaped death after jumping clear of a railway track just four seconds before the Dublin-Belfast Enterprise Service passed where he had been standing at over 140 km/h.
A new report by the Railway Accident Investigation Unit recorded details of the “near miss” which occurred near Gormanston train station in Co Meath on July 21st last year.
The report said under slightly different circumstances, there could have been a fatality or serious injury.
The employee who was attached to Irish Rail’s chief civil engineer’s department was acting as track safety coordinator for a group of construction workers working close to the Dublin-Belfast railway line near Gormanston train station.
Wake up, people: Here’s what the mainstream media don’t want you to know about Christmas
Chasing the Light review: This agreeable Irish documentary is all peace and healing. Then something disturbing happens
Are Loughmore-Castleiney and Slaughtneil what all GAA clubs should strive to be?
Your work questions answered: Can bonuses be deducted pro-rata during a maternity leave?
The report recorded that the employee had decided on his own volition to go onto the railway line to place two temperature gauges on the railway to check the temperature of the track in order to prevent any buckling or damage to the rails as it was a hot and sunny day.
The employee returned to the track at 10.04am to collect the gauge when he noticed the Enterprise service from Connolly to Belfast was approaching.
RAIU inspectors noted he managed to clear the line four seconds before the train passed him at 142km/h.
The train driver had sounded a horn and applied an emergency brake before coming to a stop.
The report found the employee would have had sight of the approaching train for 385 metres, which was almost half the required length for the maximum speed limit for that section of track.
As a result, it said the worker should not have been on the track without having alternative protection arrangements.
Tests for drugs and alcohol on the worker were negative.
The investigation said a lack of concentration by the worker and not ensuring he adhered to requirements of the company’s rule book were major factors in the incident.
They require someone on a track to look up frequently and be able to reach a position of safety at least 10 seconds before a train arrives.
The report said the worker should have realised it was not safe to work alone on the line at the location where the incident occurred.
It also concluded he had not looked or listened for trains before going on the track and may have been distracted by noise from the construction work.
The RAIU said a contributory factor may have been that the worker’s experience and confidence as a long-term staff member may have meant he momentarily lost concentration and was not as alert “as he should have been”.
The RAIU made a number of safety recommendations as a result of its finding that the division did not have a risk assessment for the monitoring of rail temperatures.
It also found that documentation did not require staff from the division to carry out any checklists before going on or near the line.
The RAIU said Irish Rail should develop a formalised process to consider whether it was necessary for staff to go or work near a line and what local knowledge was required to operate safely.
Irish Rail said it has issued a company-wide safety alert following the incident to highlight the key safety message to staff not to go on or near the line unless their duties required them to do so.