Loose rocks warning at station years before collapse

An inspection of a rockface at Waterford railway station almost two years before it collapsed on the tracks had identified loose rocks in three locations and rated the rockface “poor” with “discernible deterioration”.

A report by the Department of Transport’s Railway Accident Investigation Unit noted its rating was expected to worsen within the next five years to a point where it would have serious deficiencies requiring safety netting to be fitted.

The report examined a rock fall at Plunkett Railway Station in Waterford on December 31, 2013. A large portion of the rockface adjacent to the station collapsed on to the two tracks at 6.45pm.