Harrogate-York train crash: Network Rail rapped, tractor driver cleared

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) have released their findings on what caused the Harrogate to York train to hit a tractor on a farm crossing near Flaxby, on May 14 last year.

Nobody was seriously hurt in the crash, but the train driver was badly shaken and the tractor driver left with minor injuries, while the tractor was wrecked in the collision.

In different circumstances the outcome could have been much worse, the investigators have warned, and they have told Network Rail to improve the safety at the Oakwood Farm crossing, review safety at other crossings with the same remote controls, and look at how it introduces new equipment on to the railways.

The train after the collision

The report concludes: "The underlying causes of the accident were that Network Rail did not ensure that the risks at the crossing were adequately mitigated, and that the process for the introduction of the gate operating equipment was adequately managed."

The tractor driver started crossing the railway after a warning light had turned red, the report says, probably because he was not used to the way the crossing worked.

It shows the driver checked the warning lights before he pressed a button to open the gates - but it was a button that should only have been wired up to close, not open, the gates.

Investigators think the driver did not check the light again before he drove on to the crossing, and with only a 40 second gap between the warning lights going red and the train arrived at the crossing, by the time the tractor had got to the rails the train was upon it.

The report also shows that when the train driver spotted the tractor heading toward the crossing he sounded the train's horn and hit the emergency brakes, but did not have enough time to stop before hitting the tractor.

The British Transport Police have confirmed that no charges have yet been brought over the incident.