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SWE
In railway operations , alongside health and safety at work – which is essential for us all – the correct reporting of all operations and incidents is absolutely vital.
Even though we all hope never to find ourselves in the situation of an accident, practising for such an emergency is one of the key ways of ensuring we are fully prepared should the worst happen , and of establishing a certain routine – – which can be of great importance, particularly in stressful situations. Furthermore, it is mandatory for companies authorised to operate in the railway sector to carry out such exercises every three years✅.
Last Friday, 2 October 26, the following drill scenario was set up for our railway/track construction team in Hersbruck :
As part of a construction project , our road-rail excavator (ZWB) enters the tracks at the level crossing in Ebermannstadt but fails to report this correctly to the dispatcher⚡.
Unaware of the situation , a passenger train operated by the Ebermannstadt Steam Railwayapproaches the station and, to do so, must also cross the level crossing where our dual-mode excavator is stuck on the tracks. It is no longer possible to brake in time, resulting in a collision with our dual-mode excavator. The impact pushes the excavator further towards the level crossing, where it in turn collides with a crossing car.
Consequences of the accident (drill):
- Two people are trapped in the car and seriously injured.
- Our excavator operator is also seriously injured, to the extent that he has to be rescued from the excavator by the fire brigade.
- Significant damage to vehicles and infrastructure
The CHAIN OF COMMUNICATION is essential for rescuing the injured, so our project team on site initiates the relevant emergency calls:
- Dispatch centre
- Fire brigade
- Ambulance service
- Railway operator
The SAS GMBH emergency control centre in Cologne is also informed, which in turn contacts the internal reporting chains at Eiffage Infra-Süd.
To enable the exercise to be evaluated with all those involved afterwards and to draw the necessary lessons from it, it was recorded on video.
However, we can already anticipate one conclusion even before the detailed evaluation: the collaboration between our construction site and the local emergency services (fire brigade, paramedics, police) and the railway operating authorities worked seamlessly🤝.
To round off the day’s work, a special highlight awaited everyone involved: a tour of the “Dampfbahn Fränkische Schweiz e.V.” in Ebermannstadt , featuring many historic yet fully intact vehicles and , of course , plenty of steam🚂.
Coal + steam = a tried-and-tested duo, from 19th-century railway operations to the training team’s barbecue evening – a cosy way to round off a successful afternoon of training👏.
But whether on a construction site, in the emergency services, or in road or rail operations – the same thing is most important to everyone : always getting home safe and sound in the evening🍀! Here’s to many more effective drills, as few call-outs as possible, and continued success for us all, as well as an accident-free construction period on the rails, roads and bridges.
