WEST COAST RAILWAY COMPANY'S STEAM OPERATIONS SUSPENDED
A statement from the ORR:
“The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has temporarily prohibited West Coast Railway Company Ltd from operating steam trains on the mainline rail network, to protect the safety of its staff, volunteers, passengers and members of the public.
“The enforcement action follows an initial investigation into an incident near Doncaster on 2 October 2015, which found staff on-board locomotive 45231 had turned-off its Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) isolation equipment, designed to apply an emergency brake if the driver makes an error.
“ORR will not allow the company to run trains where there are not effective controls in place for key safety systems. The regulator is working with the company to make the required improvements before services resume.”
The prohibition comes into effect at 23.00 tonight (November 24). Diesel power operations are not affected.