40604 Emergency phones not working in Stansted airport tunnel

June 2009 in Train Operations

Equipment Rules and procedures East Anglia

A reporter is concerned about the safety of train staff and passengers due to defective emergency telephones in the Stansted airport tunnel.

The reporter is aware of over 70 percent of these emergency telephones not currently working in the Stansted airport tunnel and feels this is a serious safety issue that Network Rail need to address as a matter of urgency. The reporter is aware of a recent incident whereby a fuse blew and the train was brought to a stand when travelling through the tunnel. Electricity was isolated from the train as there was no contact with the overhead line, rendering the cab secure radio (CSR) inoperative. Within the tunnel, the mobile network has very little coverage which means that the emergency telephones are the only means of communication available to a driver when in such incidents.

The reporter is concerned that in a case of emergency when emergency phones are required for use, a driver would have to spend much more time than necessary to find a working emergency telephone to contact a signaller. This could mean that passenger‟s safety is unnecessarily being put at risk. According to the reporter, Network Rail have been aware of this problem since the beginning of this year and believes that trains should not be allowed to travel through the tunnel until Network Rail address the problem with emergency communication within this tunnel.

1. Can Network Rail ensure all drivers are informed of the defective emergency telephones in the Stansted airport tunnel?
2. When will Network Rail repair or install new telephones?
3. Does Network Rail have a contingency plan in place to mitigate against the risk of having faulty phones within the tunnel?

Response from Network Rail

The tunnel telephones consist of 18 telephones spaced at 102 metre intervals. In addition there are two dial telephones one at each tunnel portal. At the time of the train failure, 9 of the 18 tunnel telephones were non operational. The tunnel itself is 1975 metres in length and checks on mobile phone coverage indicate it is possible to use mobile phones within the tunnel for all but 450 metres in the centre of the tunnel. The failure of the train borne CSR is under investigation to better understand why the CSR failed, which would be the normal method of communication with the Signaller. At the time of train failure the CSR system was fully operational. With regard to the specific queries raised in the CIRAS report:

1. Can Network Rail ensure all drivers are informed of the defective emergency telephones in the Stansted Airport Tunnel? Each day an Operational Readiness statement is provided by Network Rail to various groups within the rail industry including the train operating companies. The document contains details of speed restrictions, assets out of use and other information to portray the status of the infrastructure. In the event that the tunnel telephones become inoperative this document will record that status.
2. When will Network Rail repair and/or install new telephones? All 18 telephones have been repaired and new cabling installed, all telephones are operational. A project to replace all the existing telephones, cabling and associated assets is planned to be complete by autumn 2009.
3. Does Network Rail have a contingency plan in place to mitigate against the risk of having faulty phones within the tunnel? In the event that one or more telephones fail, a risk assessment will be conducted and where necessary risk reduction measures will be implemented.