A Failure Of Training? Or Just 'Wales'?

Not to tread on Longrider's turf here, but this story caught my eye in the week...

A fatal train crash could have been avoided if a driver had used an emergency system designed to reduce speed, an investigation has found.

They stated it had “not occurred to them” to use their train’s manually operated sander, according to a report into a head-on collision between two trains in mid Wales on October 21 2024.

Eh? 

It happened near Talerddig in Powys on a rural section of the Cambrian line, which is predominantly single track with loops to allow trains travelling in opposite directions to pass each other.Despite braking, a westbound Transport for Wales (TfW) train failed to stop as intended inside a loop and rejoined the single line too soon, crashing into an oncoming train run by the same operator.

Slippery leaves on the line was the main cause, but not the only one. 

The RAIB revealed in an interim report in April last year that the westbound train’s automatic system did not work in the moments before the crash because of several failures, including blocked hoses, electrical faults and incorrectly installed plates measuring the flow rate of sand.

Oh dear... 

The RAIB said a rule book for TfW drivers states they should deploy the emergency sander “when a train is unable to stop in the usual distance” and its use may avoid a collision.

But the driver – who was not identified in the report – did not recall “any training” on the system and had not previously used it, according to the report.

I tend to think that at the moment you realise a crash is inevitable, you'd be pressing/pulling anything you felt might help! 

An RAIB survey of other TfW drivers after the accident “revealed a lack of clarity” about the circumstances requiring the system to be used, investigators said.

And this is the country that demands people take training courses before buying a pet rabbit.