Iarnród Éireann blamed over viaduct collapse

AN official report into the collapse of the railway viaduct at Malahide has found no records to show that Iarnród Éireann staff responsible for track inspections had carried out annual checks on the bridge for scour – the main cause of the bridge’s collapse.

The report, by the Railway Accident Investigation Unit, also noted there were no documents to suggest employees had received the specialist training necessary for the identification of scour – the action of water on bridges.

The RAIU report examined the role of the state railway company before, during and after the collapse into the sea of the viaduct over the Broadmeadow estuary in north Dublin on August 21, 2009.

The 134-page report revealed an inspection carried out on the viaduct three days before the accident had failed to notice scouring defects, which were visible.

Part of the railway line, over which 82 passenger trains and six freight trains travel every weekday, fell into the sea just minutes after two commuter trains carrying hundreds of passengers passed over the viaduct.

It is understood similar findings were made in a separate compliance audit carried out by the Railway Safety Commission, due to be published shortly.

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey said last night that the report provided “a worrying account of the inadequate maintenance and inspection regime in Iarnród Éireann”.

The RAIU report found the scouring had resulted from a combination of factors, including Iarnród Éireann’s apparent failure to take any action remedial action on the structure, despite a warning by underwater divers in 1997.

It also recorded how an inspection carried out in 2006 had not identified the Malahide viaduct as a high-risk structure for the effects of scouring, while a maintenance regime for the placing of stones along the viaduct which had shielded its support structure had ceased in 1996.

The report highlighted how Iarnród Éireann had adopted an “informal” approach to bridge inspections and how it had failed to fully adopt a new safety standard for structural inspections since its introduction in 2005.

The report noted that no inspection had been carried out on the viaduct for a 10-year period between 1988 and 1998, even though they should have been conducted at two-year intervals.

A track recording vehicle which had passed over the bridge on August 20 had not detected any structural problem and recorded the track as in good condition.

The RAIU issued 15 safety recommendations, 13 of which apply to Iarnród Éireann. In a statement, Iarnród Éireann said it accepted the findings of both the RAIU and the RSC and expressed sincere regret for the accident. The company said it had introduced a programme of major reform following the accident with many of the RAIU’s recommendations already in place.

Mr Dempsey said he had stressed to Iarnród Éireann the importance of implementing all the recommendations in full and has asked for regular progress updates.