At approximately 1215 hours on Tuesday, 18 May 1999, a collision occurred between the north yard shunt and No. 1 shunt in Middleton yard. No injuries occurred but the locomotives sustained some damage and 3000 litres of diesel leaked from a ruptured fuel tank.
The safety deficiencies identified included:
• the suitability of the procedures and compliance monitoring in place to ensure the safe operation of remote control locomotives
• the failure of staff to follow defined procedures regarding the berthing of a main line shunting service into the defined work area of a yard shunting service.
