Rail speed limits imposed due to severe weather were broken by three trains on a single morning, investigators said. Blanket restrictions were introduced across most of the rail network in north-west England and Scotland on February 21 as Storm Franklin brought strong winds and heavy rain.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said an Avanti West Coast service travelled at up to 125mph from Wolverhampton, West Midlands to Warrington, Cheshire, despite a 50mph limit being imposed on the route. The driver was informed by the operator that the speed limit was only in place on a different section of the West Coast Main Line, between Penrith, Cumbria and a level crossing near Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway.
In fact, this was the only stretch of line in the region where the temporary limit did not apply. A London-Scotland Caledonian Sleeper train was recorded travelling at 67mph at a location 10 miles south of Penrith, where the 50mph limit was in place.
The driver had not been informed about restrictions in England. Another incident involved a ScotRail service from Glasgow to Carlisle, Cumbria via Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire.
It travelled at the usual maximum speed of 70mph after passing Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway, at 9.03am. The driver had been correctly informed about a speed limit between Kilmarnock and Gretna until 9am, but was not told it had been extended until 12.30pm between Sanquhar and Thornhill.
The RAIB said: “The incidents show examples of three different mechanisms which resulted in the intent of the BESR (blanket emergency speed restriction) not being met, and in trains potentially travelling too fast for the prevailing conditions.”
After conducting a preliminary examination, it decided not to carry out a further investigation. A previous inquiry found that six trains exceeded a reduced speed limit between Laurencekirk and Portlethen, Aberdeenshire, imposed due to forecast heavy rain on December 4 last year.
The recommendations made after that inquiry – including the need to improve how drivers are made aware of BESRs and how the restrictions are implemented – are relevant to the February 21 incidents, the RAIB added.
