Runaway train careers three miles through the city

The runaway locomotive almost ploughed into a team of 30 track workers minutes before it was brought to a halt.

The Railtrack crew were working on the tracks near the Craigentinny depot when the unmanned 80 tonne locomotive hurtled past in darkness as they ran for safety.

The workmen were only warned of its presence seconds before by officials at Waverley Station who called one of them on a mobile phone to warn of the danger. The train was later halted after officials changed points on the track to move it off into a siding.

Railtrack today confirmed that an investigation had been launched over the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Monday morning and is believed to have been caused by a mechanical failure. However, track workers blasted the firm, claiming they are expected to "work as if everything is normal" despite having received no explanation about the incident.

One employee, who declined to be named, said someone could have easily been killed.

He told how he saw "an ominous black shadow" moving towards him at speed.

"There were about 25 to 30 of us working on the track just outside Portobello Station. It was just a normal nightshift doing minor maintenance on the line," he said.

"The next thing, one of the lads gets a call on his mobile phone from Waverley Station telling us all to get out the way because there was a runaway train heading towards us.

"He shouted over and I looked up. That was when we saw it heading our way. Luckily we were near the side of the line and managed to scramble back up on to the platform out of its way."

He added: "The train was completely empty and there were no lights on. It shot past at about 20 miles an hour and only stopped after they [Railtrack] set the points to push it off the line and into a siding."

The employee also said that workers were "nervous" about returning to work on the line after the near miss.

He said: "We’ve not been told anything further about what happened and have had no explanation as to how this was allowed to occur. We are just expected to get on with our work as normal.

"It was a really scary experience. If we all hadn’t been working close to the side of the track, someone could have easily been hit and killed.

"The maintenance work still needs doing and to say we are all extremely nervous about our next nightshift would be an understatement. If they can’t tell us how this happened, then how can they tell us that it is safe for us to go back on to the track?"

A spokesperson for ScotRail confirmed that the Class 90 electric locomotive had been on hire to them, to pull their Highlander sleeper service.

But the rail company claimed the locomotive was no longer on hire to them when it began its journey from the station’s East Sidings. The spokesperson added: "It was off hire to us and was not connected to any of our carriages."

The locomotive, which is capable of speeds of up to 110 mph, had been hired to ScotRail by freight and locomotive operator EWS.

A spokesman for EWS confirmed that it was one of its locomotives that was involved and that it had been on hire to ScotRail.

The spokesman added: "This is something we take very seriously and we will be co-operating fully with the investigation. I do not believe that our drivers were involved in the incident. The locomotive was on long-term hire to ScotRail for its sleeper service."

It is understood that driver error is not being blamed for the incident. Sources say mechanical failure on the braking system is likely to have been behind it.

Chris Milner, of Railway Magazine, said an EWS employee had told him that the brake had been fully applied by the driver of the locomotive.

"My understanding is that there was some kind of problem with the hand-brake which is now under investigation. It was apparently fully applied but the brakebox has not touched the wheel. It’s very rare for this kind of thing to happen," he said.

A spokeswoman for Railtrack Scotland confirmed that the incident had occurred in the early hours of Monday morning and added that officials were investigating what had caused the train to leave the station unmanned.

She said: "A full investigation is currently underway into the irregular movement of an item of rolling stock in the Waverley area on Monday morning at 03.30. All relevant Railtrack safety systems were activated as appropriate."

Alan Heath, regional organiser for the RMT railworkers union, said that workers were right to be concerned about the incident. He added: "There will have to be a full inquiry into how this could have happened."

A spokesman for British Transport Police said they were investigating the incident.

A spokeswoman for the Health and Safety Executive said the locomotive had been crewed by Virgin but although the driver will be questioned they are not under investigation.

She added: "Fortunately, the action by the signalling staff has prevented what could have been a major incident by diverting the locomotive up off the main line, where it was brought to a stop.

"There’s a full investigation already underway into this incident, which is concentrating on EWS, although all the different leads will be followed up.

"We can’t comment on any claims about the braking system of the locomotive but it’s obviously something we’ll be looking at."

The HSE spokeswoman said the train had been diverted around three-and-a-half miles away, towards Millerhill and up a rising ridge.

Transport Minister Iain Gray said: "The safety and security of rail passengers and staff is of paramount importance to the Scottish Executive.

"We’re aware that this incident is being treated very seriously by Railtrack and the Health and Safety Executive and we await the conclusions of the investigation as to what caused this incident."

Lothians MSP Kenny MacAskill said: "This is deeply worrying. I hope that the inspectorate will investigate this fully to find out what happened and make sure it never happens again. I hope the investigation will be vigorous."

Scots Tory leader David McLetchie said: "This sounds like a very serious incident was only just averted and we can only be very thankful that no-one was hurt.

"I would call for a full inquiry to be conducted into this incident. Obviously the most important thing is to establish the facts and ensure this sort of thing is not allowed to happen again."

Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald added: "This is extremely serious and could have been one of the most potentially deadly incidents in Scotland’s rail history.

"The various authorities such as Railtrack, Waverley Station and the rail company concerned must carry out a transparent inquiry to reassure people that safety has not slipped to dangerous levels."