By Phil Coleman

Last updated at 12:36, Thursday, 12 February 2009

A veteran Carlisle train driver has won £41,000 in compensation after he narrowly escaped being killed by a runaway train on the busy West Coast Mainline.

Frank Dolan

The terrifying incident, a mile south of Carlisle’s main railway station, left Frank Dolan suffering post traumatic stress disorder.

His 44-year career on the railways halted abruptly because he was left with a deep-seated fear of trains. He suffered years of flashbacks and nightmares.

Details of the accident have emerged after Mr Dolan’s former employer, the EWS Railways, admitted liability and settled out of court.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Dolan, 63, of Cant Crescent, Upperby, recalled how he had to run for his life on the afternoon of the crash, on Tuesday, August 31, 2004.

He had been driving a recovery train to retrieve a broken down freight train, which was pulling 20 wagons, each carrying 100 tons of coal.

Stopping half a mile from the broken down train, Mr Dolan and his three colleagues were discussing their next move when its brakes failed. They watched in horror as the runaway freight train rolled towards them, quickly gathering speed.

With seconds to spare, Mr Dolan alerted all his colleagues and, having ensured his engine’s brakes were on, he escaped himself. But Mr Dolan stumbled and fell, cracking some ribs as the freight train smashed into his stationary engine.

He soon recovered from his injuries, but he says the mental scars never healed.

Mr Dolan said he is haunted by the tragedy that might have happened that day.

He said: “This train was effectively running away and if our train hadn’t been there to stop it, it could have crashed into a passenger train at Carlisle.

“It was always my ambition to work on the railways and I achieved that, but as a result of this accident I’ll never work on a train again. It’s been four years now and I still get flashbacks.”

Mr Dolan, who took his legal action with the help of the train driver’s union Aslef, only ever wanted to work on the railways, getting his first job as soon as he left school, becoming a driver in 1968. It was a job he loved.

He took early retirement after being signed off on long term sick leave without ever returning to work.

Though procedures have changed to prevent a repeat of the accident, Mr Dolan is not confident the railways are safe.

Aslef general secretary Keith Norman said: “Mr Dolan and his colleagues were lucky to have escaped this incident with their lives. This was a disaster waiting to happen.”

Paul Morpeth, of Thompsons Solicitors, who represented Mr Dolan, added: “This accident could have been prevented if there had been proper procedures in place to inspect and maintain brakes on the train.”

EWS Railways declined to comment.

First published at 11:29, Thursday, 12 February 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk