Elf and Safety

[cumbriahandyman]

Station manager sacked for moving trolley off line.

Whilst I agree that he did wrong, sacking him was not the answer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-13360741

 

[WestmidsChippy]

i read this today on me break.

He did no wrong, he is a station officer. he would of been reported if there was a tear away train on the track. other then that it didn't mention he was blind or deaf so in all i would of have trusted him to go out on the track and move any object that in his professional opinion could cause an accident.

Nothing more to it but i guess some people might have a differ of opinion as someone seems to be keeping these c@ksuckers in a job

 

[thatbloke]

If it went the other way the headlines would read ''Stupid station master gets hit by train, investigation begins''. And everybody would be calling him an idiot.
Only sayin.

 

[sooey]

If it went the other way the headlines would read ''Stupid station master gets hit by train, investigation begins''. And everybody would be calling him an idiot.
Only sayin.

Do you not think a station master would have the sense to look for oncoming trains before moving the trolley?
If you think the man should have been sacked for that we know who the idiot is on here.
only sayin

 

[EngStudent]

If it went the other way the headlines would read ''Stupid station master gets hit by train, investigation begins''. And everybody would be calling him an idiot.
Only sayin.

Do you not think a station master would have the sense to look for oncoming trains before moving the trolley?
If you think the man should have been sacked for that we know who the idiot is on here.
only sayin

If the station master wasn't supposed to remove the trolley, who was?
Only saying.

 

[sooey]

Whilst I agree that he did wrong, sacking him was not the answer.

ffs, why do you think he did wrong? He had the power turned off to the track. Where was the danger?
The world is mad.

 

[joinerjohn]

The real facts of this news item is, He asked for the power to the tracks to be turned off, But,,,, No one phoned him back to say the power had been turned off. The power was in fact on when he removed the trolley from the tracks. Network Rail would require a team to remove the trolley including a PICOW and a LOOKOUT. Until this time , the railway would be unusable. Network Rail would only have a certain amount of time before they had to start paying fines. (unbelievable I know)
According to their rules, the station master put himself in danger.
Put another way, Had he been killed (either by a train or electric shock) the track would have been closed all day whilst a H&S investigation took place, costing Network Rail thousands in massive fines for track closure.
Network Rail have very strict rules on working practices, which workers get tested on fairly often. If they fail these tests too often they are stopped from working trackside.
Trackside workers can be (and are often) breathalysed at work too. With limit's stricter than motorists have. Failure to pass a breathalyser test results in suspension, leading to dismissal. A friend of mine who works for Network Rail, won't drink at all on a Sunday, knowing he's at work on Monday.

 

[EngStudent]

The power that he asked to be turned off....was this some sort of 3rd-rail type setup (doubtful) or overhead power lines? I appreciate that rail companies have their own rules, but those of us who live in a city with a metro system are forever walking under the overhead lines.

We don't know the full story but the action taken seems a bit over the top.

Edit: After a quick Google it seems it is a 3rd-rail setup. What a tool; protective shoes or not, I now think he deserves it.

 

[thatbloke]

If it went the other way the headlines would read ''Stupid station master gets hit by train, investigation begins''. And everybody would be calling him an idiot.
Only sayin.

Do you not think a station master would have the sense to look for oncoming trains before moving the trolley?
If you think the man should have been sacked for that we know who the idiot is on here.
only sayin

Look out for oncoming trains? A fast moving train whilst lifting a shopping trolley off a live track?
I'd much rather he got sacked than risk being killed, harsh though it is. Network rail cannot have employees jumping all over the railway track.

 

[sooey]

The linked story didn't say it was a live track, though according to joiner john it was. That puts a different light on it. It was a single track line though, so there is no way an oncoming train wouldn't be seen, no matter how fast. for a start when a train is coming the line starts usually vibrating well before. Whatever, sacking him for that is bolox.

 

[joinerjohn]

If you work for Network Rail and feel that your under too much pressure, they'll stop you working trackside. Say your wife left you and you were feeling low. They'd definitely stop you from working. Even trivial matters can stop people going on to the tracks. Network Rail won't take the chance that some employee will throw himself under a train travelling at 100+mph.

 

[EFCLee1]

OMG OMG OMG how many will watch this!!!!!!!!!!

 

[EngStudent]

If you work for Network Rail and feel that your under too much pressure, they'll stop you working trackside. Say your wife left you and you were feeling low. They'd definitely stop you from working. Even trivial matters can stop people going on to the tracks. Network Rail won't take the chance that some employee will throw himself under a train travelling at 100+mph.

I presume you work/have worked for/know people that work for Network Rail?

A topic on the IET forums has that 3rd rail at 750V DC. Considering he was moving a pretty big metal object and that 3rd rail was still on, I'd say he's lucky to have only lost his job.

IET Forums - Third Rail Always Live?

 

[joinerjohn]

I know a few people who work on the railways. H&S and worker safety is paramount at all times. Even minor infringements of the rules can and often do lead to dismissal.
My mate was doing a signal check (to ensure the signalling system is working perfectly). He had to phone up a control centre when he arrived on site and is then given permission to start the checks (control room turn other signals etc to red so no trains can enter the section of track he's working on). All tests take around 1/2-3/4 hr to complete. Just as he's finishing the tests and pulling his clips off the signals, he inadvertently, pulled a wire off. Now I'm sure most of us would have just fixed it back on and carried on, but under NR rules, he had to replace the wire and conduct the full test again.

 

[cumbriahandyman]

The chap in question was the stationmaster. It was a single track so not only would he have known the times of all trains, he would have known from which direction they were coming.

Yes he did wrong, but was sacking him proportionate to the wrongdoing? In my mind no it was not.

In fact, his boss should also have been disciplined, had this chap been trained properly, he might not have done what he did.

Why when he asked for the live rail to be turned off, was it not done immediately?

As he moved the offending object before it was hit, we will never know what might have happened had it been left there to be hit by a train. Unlikely to have derailed the train but would almost certainly have caused some costly damage either to the train or the track.

Hell, it might even have been thrown into the station killing or injuring a commuter.

It will be interesting to hear the findings of any subsequent tribunal.