14.05.2013

Runaway road-rail boom

A 60ft articulated boom lift, modified for rail use, ran away in Glasgow, Scotland in April, hitting a scaffold that was in use at the time, before running into Glasgow’s Queen Street station.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said it was looking into a serious incident, which happened on 21st April and that the investigation was ongoing.

The boom was being transferred onto the tracks at a road-rail access point when it ran away just after the rail wheels were lowered. It struck the scaffolding as it passed through a tunnel, seriously injuring a man on the scaffold. In all the lift covered a full mile before hitting the buffers in Glasgow station. There was no one at the controls at the time.
Please register to see all images

The run away boom in Glasgow station

The RAIB said: "a person working on the scaffolding was seriously injured. Other members of staff working on the track were able to move clear of the runaway vehicle because they either heard its approach or were warned by mobile telephone."

“A preliminary examination has indicated that the runaway occurred because the brakes acting on the rail wheels were inadequate to stop the vehicle on the gradient and that the road to rail transfer was not carried out correctly, it also ran through the tunnel without lights".

Finally the statement said that initial tests on the rail wheel brakes indicated that they may not always perform to the intended standard. As a result it has placed restrictions on the use of this type of platform. The unit concerned was a Rexquote Accessrailer based on a Genie Z60/34.