FLYING SCOTSMAN CHARTER SHOULD STILL GO AHEAD
Published at 17:59 on Wednesday 17th February 2016
Tags: West Coast Railway, WCR, ORR, Office of Rail & Road, Safety, Licence
Hundreds of spectators turned out in the rain and lined the platforms of Oxenholme station on 6th February 2016 to see the return of LNER 'A3' Pacific No. 60103 Flying Scotsman, after its lengthy overhaul. The NRM says its next main line charter on 25th February, should go-ahead as planned. Michael Horwood
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) issued a Prohibition Notice to West Coast Railway Company Ltd (WCRC) on 17th February, preventing it running services on the main line. The Notice relates to concerns about WCRC’s management of safety, following a number of incidents over the past year.
ORR considers WCRC continues to present a safety risk, and as such have issued a Prohibition Notice. Under the terms of the Notice, the company will not be able to operate trains on the National Network until the ORR is satisfied its governance and operations meet industry practice and are fit for the scale of its operation.
Steps the company must take include: the introduction of clearer governance structures with proper accountability for safety; more robust risk assessments; and enhanced processes for managing staff with a focus on safety culture.
Ian Prosser, HM Chief Inspector of Railways at ORR said:"A decision to stop a train operator from running rail services is not taken lightly. However, my concerns about West Coast Railway Company’s lack of appreciation of the seriousness of a collective range of incidents over the last year, coupled with ORR’s concerns on the company’s governance, regrettably make this prohibition necessary. These failings create a significant risk to operations on the mainline network.
Mr Prosser added: “We want to encourage successful business operations on our railways and hope WCRC will be able to put in place steps to ensure fit and proper safety management with a view to resuming operations. Our inspectors stand ready to work with the company to support and advise as it strengthens its approach to safety."
However, satisfying ORR inspectors, given the terms of the Notice, is not going to be an quick overnight undertaking, although how quickly the company complies is entirely down to WCRC. Over the course of the next three weeks, only the Railway Touring Company is affected, with three of its ‘Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express’ services due to operate. The company said that other alternatives for the trains were being examined and a decision on the charter that is due to operate on 20th February is due to be taken tomorrow.
The biggest impact however, will be felt by the National Railway Museum, as its official ‘return to steam’ trip with LNER ‘A3’ No. 60103 Flying Scotsman was due to operate from London King’s Cross to York on 25th February. The Museum has now confirmed that discussions with DB Schenker have been underway as part of its contingency planning and the NRM is confident that what it calls the 'Inaugural Run' of No. 60103 Flying Scotsman on 25th February will still go ahead.
A spokesman for the museum added that the situation with West Coast Railway was disappointing and that it is concerned about the implications for the operation of steam services on the main line. That impact will however, be felt more widely if the issues cannot be solved in the cmming weeks as Steam Dreams, RTC and Vintage Trains are all due to operate trains on 12th March, alongside an in-house WCR charter. The one aspect that is clear from the ORR documentation, is that WCR has much work to accomplish to satisfy the Office of Rail and Road that it is a safe and competnant operator.
The ORR's outcome letter can be downloaded from the ORR website.
