Risks at dangerous level crossing were not identified

IARNRÓD Éireann failed to effectively identify and manage the ongoing risks at a level crossing where a farmer was struck by a train and killed last year.

The Railway Accident Investigation Unit (RAIU) made the assessment after investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a farmer who was killed after being struck by the 9.45pm train from Ennis to Limerick near Sixmilebridge in Clare on June 27 last year.

As the train driver approached a manually controlled level crossing, he spotted the farmer 162 metres ahead of the train pushing a cow through the gates of the crossing.

Although the train driver applied the brake and sounded the horn twice, the farmer continued to push the cow and was struck by the train.

The train stopped approximately 200 metres beyond the level crossing and the driver called emergency services. The farmer was pronounced dead at the scene.

The RAIU identified a number of contributory and underlying factors which caused the accident including that vegetation at the level crossing may have affected the farmer’s ability to see the train.

The report was also critical of the distance required to cross the level crossing as being too great.

“It was not possible to determine at what point the farmer became aware of the presence of the train or why the farmer continued the movement across the railway line as the train approached. However, it was possible to determine that the distance across XE039 [the title of the crossing] is greater than the distance allowed by IÉ due to the skewed layout of the level crossing,” said the report.

It also found that Iarnród Éireann’s “risk management system in place was not found to be adequately managing the risks” at the level crossing.

The report pointed out that a number of improvements have taken place at the crossing in response to the accident including the erection of whistleboards, improved signage, work to replace some 250 metres of fencing and the erection of convex mirrors at the site.

The RAIU recommended that Iarnród Éireann should produce risk assessments for all manually operated level crossings to identify hazards at particular level crossings.