At 16:57 hrs on 18 September 2017, a passenger train travelling at 125 mph (200 km/h), encountered three line-side workers on Dutton Viaduct. The last of the workers moved clear of the track less than half a second before the train passed him. None of the workers were injured, but the train driver was shaken by the incident.
The permitted line speed of the railway on the viaduct is 125 mph (200 km/h). Because of the limited space available on the viaduct to stand clear of passing trains, the viaduct is a ‘red zone prohibited area’. This means that railway staff are not permitted to be on the viaduct whilst the railway is open to traffic unless they are separated from trains by a permanent fence. The viaduct has refuges which allowed workers to safely stand further back from passing trains when train speeds used to be lower. However, since the line speed was increased as part of the West Coast Main Line upgrade (completed in 2006), these refuges are no longer adequate to ensure safety.
The line-side workers had been carrying out a structural examination of the viaduct which required them to work from areas on either side of the viaduct which are separated from the railway lines by the permanent bridge parapet fence. Such work is permitted when trains are running.
Despite the prohibition of access to the railway lines (including the refuges) on the viaduct while trains are running, the group of workers chose to cross from a refuge on the down side of the railway to a refuge on the up side of the railway. Train 9M84 was approaching them on the up line as they were completing the crossing. The last worker managed to get into the refuge approximately half a second before the train passed the location.
