An Amazon delivery driver was killed by a train after he drove his van on to railway tracks at a manually operated level crossing, apparently without realising he needed to open the exit gate first, an official investigation has reported.
Safety inspectors said there was “an obvious risk of further tragedy”, with a second similar fatal event still being investigated, and called for an overhaul of this type of crossing.
The van driver, Brandon Hatcher, 23, of Ashford, Kent, died at the Bax crossing near Teynham after being hit by a passenger train from Ramsgate to London in July last year.
While signs at the crossing told road users to check for a green light before opening both gates, and again before closing both gates, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch report found that the traffic light system “almost certainly led [the driver] to believe that it was safe to enter the crossing once the entry gate had been opened, despite the exit gate still being closed”.
Hatcher drove his van across most of the track and was parked when the lights turned red and alarms sounded to indicate an approaching train. He opened the exit gate but not sufficiently to pass at the first attempt, tried again and was returning to the door of his van when the Southeastern train, travelling at 90mph, came within view 300 metres away.
The train driver applied the emergency brake but could not avoid the fatal collision. Three train passengers reported minor injuries.
The signage had been redesigned in recent years but the RAIB found that it “did not sufficiently consider how diverse information sources may influence crossing user behaviour”.
It said the training and guidance provided to the delivery driver, who was self-employed but working on behalf of a logistics company, GG Logistix, delivering Amazon parcels, “had not prepared him to use the crossing safely”. It called for Network Rail and the Department for Transport to review the design, laws and guidance around this type of level crossing to reduce the risk.
Another delivery driver was also killed when hit by a Northern train at a manual crossing in Lancashire in August. The circumstances of the death of Simon Gettings, 55, remain under investigation.
Andrew Hall, the chief inspector of rail accidents, said: “These deaths are a tragedy, but as a train can be derailed by striking a delivery van, both accidents could also have had serious consequences for the people on board.
“Private user worked crossings are a 19th-century concept operating in a 21st century world of more dense, faster rail services, more rural housing and abundant home deliveries. Most road users are unfamiliar with this type of crossing and with how to use them safely.”
He urged the rail industry and the DfT “to find effective ways to mitigate this obvious risk before there is further tragedy”.
The rail regulator, ORR, said it would “ensure lessons are learned and improvements made to protect crossing users, passengers and railway staff”.
David Davidson, the chief operating officer for South Eastern Railway, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and loved ones of Brandon Hatcher who tragically lost his life following a collision with one of our trains.”
He said they would study the report’s recommendations closely, adding: “We have already made changes to the layout of the site and we have published a toolkit with guidance on this type of crossing for professional road drivers. We will continue working with the industry and all our partners to help prevent accidents like this from happening again.”
