An Anniversary and a Report

This week sees the 105th anniversary of the worst railway accident in the UK.  On 22nd May 1915 a collision occurred at Quintinshill near Gretna Green.  Around 227 people were killed, most of them soldiers on the way to the front.  There is an annual service to remember the disaster which this year was held without the normal crowds who gather to pay their respects to those lost.  The accident was caused by errors made by signalmen.

By coincidence the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) published their Annual Report (2019) this week.  It makes sobering reading.  It talks of a lack of a satisfactory control and command system, problems of communication in crises and the challenges faced by signallers in managing very large workloads.  It contains a long list of lessons that have been identified in previous reports that still await action by the railway authorities.

It is not fair to juxtapose the publication of a modern report with an historic incident.  They are not related.   The railway is a far safer means of transport than almost any other.  No potential accident is likely to create a death toll as huge as that seen at Quintinshill.    However I hope that there are some senior people in the railway industry and in the Department for Transport that read both the Board of Trade Report into the disaster and the RAIB Annual Report.  One is a reminder of what can happen when railway safety slips and the other is a tale of the continuing battle for a safe railway.

Philip Trendall
22nd May 2020


 The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of any client of Scott Trendall Ltd

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