Derailment caused by train hitting piece of rail left on track

The RAIB investigation found that the redundant rail had inadvertently been left in a dangerous position following maintenance work carried out over the preceding weekend. A lack of supervision and an ineffective inspection process meant the hazard was not identified before the railway was reopened for normal operations. Specifically, the absence of a designated supervisor overseeing the work and inadequate briefing of the track handback engineer contributed to the failure to detect the misplaced rail.

The RAIB investigation found that the redundant rail had inadvertently been left in a dangerous position following maintenance work carried out over the preceding weekend. A lack of supervision and an ineffective inspection process meant the hazard was not identified before the railway was reopened for normal operations. Specifically, the absence of a designated supervisor overseeing the work and inadequate briefing of the track handback engineer contributed to the failure to detect the misplaced rail.