Drivers, residents, businesses – and even runners at the Great North Run – are being urged to find out more about what is planned to improve journeys on motorways and major roads in the North East.

Highways England will be out and about in Gateshead and South Shields next month letting people know how its multi million pound programme will improve safety and create better journeys for people travelling around the region.

The company is using an exhibition van, to give drivers and local residents the chance to speak to staff from different sections of the business, in one place at the same time.

Highways England’s regional director Rich Marshall said:

This is a fantastic opportunity for people to come and speak to us to find out more about how much we are improving journeys in the North East area and also to raise any questions they might have.

We will have people working on long term projects, teams who focus on maintenance and traffic officers who patrol our network.

Using this exhibition van allows us to take our plans on the road and talk to the people that are directly affected by our work. If you can’t attend one of the events then there will be a chance to take part in a twitter question and answer session on the Friday using the hashtag #askHE.

The Highways England team will be outside the green mall at the intu Metrocentre, Gatehead NE11 9YA on Friday 7 September between 11.30am and 6.30pm.

On Saturday 8 September they will be attending the Pasta Party, Mill Road car park, Gateshead, NE8 5JB between 9.30am and 5.30pm

And on Sunday 9 September they will be at the finish line of the Great North Run at South Shields between 8.30am and 4pm

People can learn more about the events, and give us their feedback, on our events page.

Major projects planned in the North East

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer

Summary

At around 10:46 hrs on 21 February 2018, two track workers narrowly avoided being struck by a Tyne and Wear Metro train at Pelaw North Junction. The train was travelling at around 65km/h at the time. The track workers managed to move clear of the train two seconds before the train passed them. Neither was injured.

The incident occurred because the track workers were unaware of the train approaching on the line which they were on. A second train, on an adjacent line, had blocked their view of the approaching train. Although two trains passing each other in such a manner is a regular event at Pelaw North Junction, the system of work which had been set up by the track workers did not take the blocking of a lookout’s view of one train by another into account. The RAIB found that Nexus Rail’s procedures did not assist with the creation of an effective safe system of work. Additionally, there was a non-compliance with the rule book relating to the lookout not providing a warning when the sighting of trains became obscured.

Recommendations

As a result of its investigation, the RAIB has made five recommendations to Nexus Rail. These cover:

• identifying locations on the Tyne and Wear Metro network where multiple lookouts are necessary to establish a safe system of work and providing this information to relevant staff
• improving the information available to track workers regarding hazards on the Tyne and Wear Metro network
• improving the quality of on-site risk assessments carried out
• supporting newly qualified safety critical track staff as they gain experience in making safe decisions
• clarifying and strengthening the process that Nexus Rail use to manage staff on prescription medication.

The RAIB has also identified three learning points. One is a reminder to all track workers on the Tyne and Wear Metro of the rule book requirement to stand in a position of safety when a train is passing on another line. The second reminds lookouts to constantly review their sighting of trains and provide a warning to track workers if sighting is lost for any reason. The third advises duty holders of the importance of reviewing the circumstances of near-miss incidents promptly, so that perishable evidence is secured and, where appropriate, the RAIB and ORR are notified in a timely manner.

Notes to editors

1. The sole purpose of RAIB investigations is to prevent future accidents and incidents and improve railway safety. RAIB does not establish blame, liability or carry out prosecutions.
2. RAIB operates, as far as possible, in an open and transparent manner. While our investigations are completely independent of the railway industry, we do maintain close liaison with railway companies and if we discover matters that may affect the safety of the railway, we make sure that information about them is circulated to the right people as soon as possible, and certainly long before publication of our final report.
3. For media enquiries, please call 01932 440015.

Newsdate: 28 August 2018

DASA will be hosting a dial-in event on 11 September 2018, 10am to midday to provide a short briefing on the Invisible Battlespace competition followed by an open forum Q&A session.

Also available will be the opportunity to book a one to one telecon meeting with the competition team to discuss questions specific to your proposal.

Further information about the competition can be found in the Invisible Battlespace competition document, where you will find links to register for the dial-in and one to one meetings.