Co-ord Attends IOSH Public Safety Event

Members of the Co-ord attended the IOSH event “Working safely in Practice” in Portmadog on June 8th.

Opened by Steve Granger the President of IOSH the day included a site visit to the new Portmadog Tremadog bypass at the near completed Minffordd junction and a demonstration on level crossing safety on the Ffestiniog railway.

The construction of the bypass was certainly varied and has taken many years to plan. A lengthy section of the railway line had to be moved, there was a quarry entrance, a river crossing, two railway crossings and numerous environmental issues such as bats, badgers, water voles etc. Working alongside the Cambrian Coast Mainline Railway had taken twelve months planning and liaison and it was interesting to see the background.

There are over 7500 level crossings in the UK from staffed and barriered ones in cities to open pedestrian ones in rural areas. There were 253 pedestrian incidents last year resulting in e fatalities and a further 2 fatalities in vehicular incidents. Each is treated as unique and there is no generic approach.

Crossings have a low possibility of incident but a high consequence. With an increasing amount of rail traffic expected in the future and an increased speed of that traffic e to when many of these crossing were installed vigilance and adherence to the method of each crossing is vital for public safety. Ever sign and every gate catch or lock has a purpose.

An excellent and very informative day that was worth the travel, the Co-ord will look towards future events.

Source: Derek Maylor

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