RAIB reports ‘near miss’ on Welsh line

A TRACK worker in Wales was almost hit by a train because his group had become separated, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch has said. The incident occurred on 2 April this year, when one member of a p-way team only moved out of the way at the last moment, but not before the driver of a passenger train between Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth had sounded warnings and made an emergency brake application. The RAIB has concluded that the incident at Ynys Hir, near Dovey Junction, occurred because the work group had become separated and the COSS could no longer ensure that the safe system of work functioned correctly.

Trains disrupted in Birmingham

TRAINS on part of Birmingham’s Cross City line have been disrupted by an emergency track inspection. Services run by West Midlands Railway and CrossCountry have been affected, and emergency replacement buses are running between Longbridge, Redditch and Bromsgrove. Network Rail is hoping to reopen the route by mid-morning.

Virgin Trains handed out 50,000 bottles of water

VIRGIN Trains says it handed out 50,000 bottles of water on Thursday last week, when record-breaking temperatures were recorded. The operator said it had been able to run 232 services of the 311 booked. The London-Birmingham service was reduced from three to two trains an hour, to make the spare sets available for relief services on all routes.