05/06/2021
UK Network Rail issued a safety alert after a road rail crane collided with a road rail boom, trapping the operator and seriously injuring him.
The incident occurred near Billericay, Essex on Sunday morning when the boom and crane were traveling on the same route in a row at the end of a shift.
The boom lift was traveling in front of the Doosan Long Reach RRV crane – a modified 360 degree excavator with a hydraulic boom and road rail transmission – when it stopped, causing the Doosan boom to hit the boom lift platform where the operator and crashed into Controllers were on their way. The operator sustained life-changing injuries and possibly lost his leg while the controller was uninjured. The crane operator and his controller, who were both in the crane’s cab, were also not injured.
The platform (right) and the Doosan crane after the incident
The incident is currently being investigated by the prime contractor, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). A full report is expected once the investigation is completed.
The safety alert and initial discussion points can be viewed and / or downloaded from Network Rail’s Safety Central website at: https://safety.networkrail.co.uk/
We’ll update this report as we learn more.
Note
This is not the first time Network Rail has collided with a working platform in this part of the network. Last year a moving platform collided with a stationary one because the operator was not paying attention to it. Fortunately, no one was injured in this incident, and the RAIB issued a full report of what had happened, including recommendations.
