[A]n emergency exercise will take place on April 13 at Story Contracting’s new test rail track on the Burgh Road Industrial Estate in Carlisle.
The exercise is designed to test the response of emergency services to an incident involving a road traffic collision at a railway level crossing constructed at Story’s test track.
Organised by Story Contracting in conjunction with the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, Network Rail and the North West Ambulance Service, the exercise is the first of its type in the Carlisle area.
Steve Healey, Cumbria County Council’s Chief Fire Officer, said: “Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service welcomes the opportunity to work with Story Contracting, using their rail track facility in Carlisle for a multi-agency training exercise involving a serious incident at a level crossing.
“By using Story’s test track for this exercise, we can create a realistic training environment where fire-fighters will face a range of challenges, including rescuing people trapped in vehicles, triaging casualties at the scene and making safe overhead power lines.
“It’s important these exercises are as realistic as possible, as they play a vital role in helping to test our ability to respond to emergency situations and learn how we can improve our operational response in real-life incidents.”
Ian Purdham Rail Director (England) at Story Contracting added: “Story Contracting are delighted to be working with the Fire Service on this exercise, which prepares both them and us in case of an incident on the track. Because the exercise takes place on a “real railway track”, in a completely safe environment, we can ensure the highest quality experience for all taking part.
“Our test track is also used to train operators in the use of rail plant in an environment representative of the railway infrastructure, which is a great benefit for our training centre which offers a wide variety of training and courses.”
