Rail freight operator DB Cargo UK has held a multi-agency exercise that involved a simulated train derailment at its Healey Mills site in Wakefield.
During the three-day exercise, the company worked with agencies West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Yorkshire Ambulance, Network Rail, Wakefield Council and the British Transport Police to re-create the scenario.
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The exercise was aimed at providing a practical training exercise for everyone who is involved in it.
DB Cargo UK Healey Mills safety assurance manager Dave Jenkinson said: “The successful delivery of the project has showcased Healey Mills as an ideal location for future training exercises as we can recreate a number of different emergency scenarios.
“West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the other parties involved were very pleased with the facilities provided and will be using the site again in the future.”
Furthermore, Healey Mills was highlighted as an ideal site for future training opportunities and it is now available as a training site for train and freight operating companies and the emergency services.
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By GlobalDataA locomotive and out of service rail carriages were placed on an unused rail track at Healey Mills and one carriage was also completely overturned.
As part of the exercise, volunteers from St John’s Ambulance acted as people trapped, injured or missing. In order to replicate individuals stuck under the carriages, dummies were used at the scene.
Ossett Academy was used as a tactical command location.
West Yorkshire Police, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) also participated in the exercise.
Image: Volunteers from St John’s Ambulance acted as trapped, injured and missing, as part of the exercise. Photo: courtesy of Deutsche Bahn AG.
