CHINGFORD WALKWAY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
Following the Tyseley depot fatality where a driver took a shortcut between two trains which were then coupled together, a Depot Safety Task Force was established at Arriva Rail London to identify and mitigate high level risk areas within our train depots.
The Depot Safety Task Force was formed with representatives from each depot, fleet facilities, traincare and operations. Each representative was asked to carry out risk assessments at their respective depots and identify any high-risk areas. Together they identified and agreed all areas in need of improvements.
There were two areas of concern identified on the walking route at Chingford depot: uneven surfaces and broken through lids, which the taskforce decided needed addressing with the aim of creating a safer walking route for employees.
It was agreed that new walkways should be installed, and the existing concrete trough route replaced with GRP (glass reinforced plastic) design. In order to start this work, the Fleet management team decided to utilise a workforce already on site to carry out the upgrades to the existing walking routes in the depot.
An agreement was made with Network Rail to fund this work which was then incorporated into security hut works already taking place, albeit with different funding sources.
Works included resurfacing a large part of the depot walking route from the shunters’ cabin down to the train wash, replacing the cable troughing in and around the shunters’ cabin, and the Alstom cabin was also added to the scope. This was badly needed as the original concrete troughing was damaged and not fit for purpose. This also meant a new power cable for the security hut could be laid inside the new trough route.
Previous condition of walking routes
“The improved walkways have been a positive step for colleagues at Chingford. Where once there were uneven surfaces with concrete troughing lids posing a trip hazard, now colleagues can enjoy smooth, newly- resurfaced access routes through the sidings, with nonslip GRP lids replacing the concrete troughing. Although the walking routes had been repaired repeatedly to comply with safety requirements, degradation over time meant they had become harder to maintain. As well as renewing the surfaces, line markings were repainted to clearly identify the authorised walking routes, which are mainly used by shunters, drivers and traincare colleagues. The renewals have reduced the chance of slips, trips and falls and helped the traincare team to transport equipment more easily.” - Sinead Flannagan, fleet facilities support manager.
The works, which were managed by Sinead Flanagan and Steve Driver, started in March 2022. They were swiftly completed by the end of May 2022, with very few issues due to the effective management of the contractor.
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