Oh Dear that looks expensive !
The mitigation men survey the damage at Carlisle Kingmoor Yard with a 102 tonne Freightliner Coal wagon having destroyed the track during a propelling move with freight 6M61 19.24 Hunterston High Level to Fiddlers Ferry Power Station.
In BR days re-railing would have started at a location like this within the hour to avoid massive disruption but the modern blame lead privatised railway does things very differently. It's going to cost money so someone is to BLAME but who will buckle first under pressure (in this case I suspect the track, LOL). Network Rail incident managers and P-way staff assess the track condition while representatives of Freightliner Heavy Haul's local management and track maintenance team look on. All the while the clock is ticking and DB Schenker will be ringing the cash register for any trains trapped in by the incident as the up recess sidings are effectively blocked as well as 50% of the up departures yard.
This 50yds of track is a derailment hot spot being probably the busiest couple of sets of points in the yard too. In recognition of that fact they are the only two sets of hand points in the yard with switch locks. Alas nobody will ever accept this fact least of all Network Rail who maintain the track here but the freight companies are as bad as the first thing they look to do is blame the groundstaff or driver for any incident. Call me a cynical old BR fogey but why can't they just accept wear and tear causes fatigue and eventual failure unless track is renewed on a more frequent basis, alas being yard lines that is well down the priority list. To really address the issue of why this pinch point is hammered to death by 2000 tonne plus coal trains on a daily basis look at the dreadful layout caused by rationalisation in the early 1980's when the Anglo Scottish coal traffic didn't exist. With only three sidings available in the up recess sidings all other arriving freights have to draw through the yard onto no.1 departure line then push back into the up departures yard for stabling hence twice the traffic over this spot. The above derailment was a draw up and push back and on reversing 15 wagons out of 19 made it but the 16th didn't. The answer is reinstate a connection over the old up hump into the up sorting sidings but hey this is freight so that is never going to happen as it cost money. If this one gets pinned on Freightliner there won't be a Christmas bonus for 2013. Being loaded I suspect this will have to be a 75 ton crane job so DB Schenker will be cashing in plus the two sets of wrecked points and delay minutes to other operators. ££££ Kerching, Kerching all round and a final bill well into the thousands. Mark my words it wont be the last at this very spot I guarantee it.
Oh Dear that looks expensive !
The mitigation men survey the damage at Carlisle Kingmoor Yard with a 102 tonne Freightliner Coal wagon having destroyed the track during a propelling move with freight 6M61 19.24 Hunterston High Level to Fiddlers Ferry Power Station.
In BR days re-railing would have started at a location like this within the hour to avoid massive disruption but the modern blame lead privatised railway does things very differently. It's going to cost money so someone is to BLAME but who will buckle first under pressure (in this case I suspect the track, LOL). Network Rail incident managers and P-way staff assess the track condition while representatives of Freightliner Heavy Haul's local management and track maintenance team look on. All the while the clock is ticking and DB Schenker will be ringing the cash register for any trains trapped in by the incident as the up recess sidings are effectively blocked as well as 50% of the up departures yard.
This 50yds of track is a derailment hot spot being probably the busiest couple of sets of points in the yard too. In recognition of that fact they are the only two sets of hand points in the yard with switch locks. Alas nobody will ever accept this fact least of all Network Rail who maintain the track here but the freight companies are as bad as the first thing they look to do is blame the groundstaff or driver for any incident. Call me a cynical old BR fogey but why can't they just accept wear and tear causes fatigue and eventual failure unless track is renewed on a more frequent basis, alas being yard lines that is well down the priority list. To really address the issue of why this pinch point is hammered to death by 2000 tonne plus coal trains on a daily basis look at the dreadful layout caused by rationalisation in the early 1980's when the Anglo Scottish coal traffic didn't exist. With only three sidings available in the up recess sidings all other arriving freights have to draw through the yard onto no.1 departure line then push back into the up departures yard for stabling hence twice the traffic over this spot. The above derailment was a draw up and push back and on reversing 15 wagons out of 19 made it but the 16th didn't. The answer is reinstate a connection over the old up hump into the up sorting sidings but hey this is freight so that is never going to happen as it cost money. If this one gets pinned on Freightliner there won't be a Christmas bonus for 2013. Being loaded I suspect this will have to be a 75 ton crane job so DB Schenker will be cashing in plus the two sets of wrecked points and delay minutes to other operators. ££££ Kerching, Kerching all round and a final bill well into the thousands. Mark my words it wont be the last at this very spot I guarantee it.