IRSE Briefing to Staff
at the Network Rail DU Glasgow 👏
Pam Martin and Paul
Martin CEng were
out this week to pay a visit & have a talk to the team based at Network Rail’s Delivery Unit in Glasgow. Paul explained how he was at the Clapham Junction railway crash back in December
1988 where a crowded British Rail passenger train crashed into the rear of another train that had stopped at a signal just south of Clapham Junction and subsequently sideswiped an empty train
travelling in the opposite direction. Sadly, a total of 35 people died in the collision, while another 484 were injured.
The collision was the result of a signal failure caused by a wiring fault. New wiring had been installed, but the old wiring had been left in place and not adequately secured. An independent
inquiry chaired by Anthony Hidden QC found that the signalling technician responsible had not been told that his working practices were wrong, and his work had not been inspected by an
independent person. He had also performed the work during his 13th consecutive seven-day workweek.
Recommendations from the inquiry included ensuring that work was independently inspected and that a senior project manager be made responsible for all aspects of any major, safety-critical
project such as re-signalling work. This crash led to the IRSE Licencing Scheme being set up as we know it today.
Pam went on to explain how Engineers should keep their log books up to date and how the IRSE assessment process works at PM
Training and Assessing Ltd.
If you need help on your IRSE Licence then call the team on 01874 620 704 or email [email protected]
#IRSE #licensing #Assessments #Networkrail #glasgow #worksdeliveryunit #Engineers