A railway track worker narrowly escaped being hit by a high speed train between Totnes and Newton Abbot last month.

A report into the incident was issued by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) today (Wednesday April 17).

‘At around 10:44 on March 13 2024 a Great Western Railway train travelling at around 50mph was involved in a near miss with a track worker on the Up Mainline shortly after leaving Totnes station,’ the report revealed.

The track worker involved in the near miss was the controller of site safety (COSS) for a team working next to the Up Main line.

‘At the time of the incident, the COSS was assessing if there was enough clearance on the side of the railway for the team to continue using the separated system of work which had been planned for the task,’ the report continued.

The RIAB has issued a ‘safety digest’ following the incident.