4.3 Overhead Line Emergencies, Emergency Switch-Off & Rescue
Key Takeaways
Treat broken or displaced overhead wires, and anything touching them, as live; do not approach or try to remove them unless specially trained and authorised.
Handbook 1 says you must not go closer than 5 metres to a fallen electricity company power line, or anything touching it, until the electricity company confirms it is safe.
When you call the ECO in an emergency, first say "This is an emergency call", then give the reason, whether anyone is in danger from live OLE and whether the emergency services are waiting.
An emergency switch-off does not mean train running has stopped, and after the ECO's assurance the OLE is safe to approach but not to touch.
Before rescuing a person within 2.75 metres of the OLE it must be isolated and earthed, unless the electricity is off, the person is alive, reachable from the ground and more than 600 mm from the equipment, and you will stay more than 600 mm away.
4.3 Overhead Line Emergencies, Emergency Switch-Off & Rescue
Overhead line equipment can be damaged by trains, plant, weather, trees and vandalism. When that happens, the rules in Handbook 16 and section 8.4 of the PTS handbook decide who you call, what you say and whether anyone may approach.
Damaged or Fallen Overhead Line Equipment
If OLE breaks, sags or comes down:
- treat broken or displaced wires, and anything attached to or near the OLE, as live and dangerous to life (HB16 section 3.2);
- do not approach or try to remove anything hanging from, touching or close to the OLE unless you have been specially trained and authorised;
- keep yourself and everyone else well away, and never come within 2.75 metres of live equipment or anything touching it;
- if the line is obstructed, protect the line and stop trains (chapter 8), and report the damage to the signaller and the ECO.
A conductor lying on the ground or on a fence or vehicle can make the ground around it live. Voltage spreads out from the point of contact, so two feet planted at different distances can be at different voltages (step potential), and touching something live while standing on the ground is a touch potential. That is why the rules rely on keeping well clear rather than on judging a "safe" distance by eye. If you ever find yourself close to a conductor on the ground, general electrical safety advice is to keep your feet together and shuffle away without lifting them, rather than running.
Fallen Power Lines Belonging to an Electricity Company
HB1 section 7.7 covers overhead power lines owned by electricity companies (not railway OLE). If one falls onto or near the railway line you must, if necessary, stop trains as shown in section 8 of HB1, and you must not go closer than 5 metres (approximately 5 yards) to the fallen line or anything in contact with it until the electricity company has confirmed that it is safe to do so.
Objects Caught in the OLE
Balloons, kite strings, plastic sheeting, branches and fishing lines regularly end up in the OLE. Do not try to knock, pull or poke them off. Damp or dirty materials can conduct, branches contain water, and carbon fibre (used in fishing rods and some poles) conducts electricity. An arc can travel through the object to you. Keep clear, keep others clear and report it to the ECO; only specially trained and authorised staff deal with it.
Plant Near Live OLE
Cranes, excavators, road-rail vehicles and mobile elevating work platforms can reach the OLE far more easily than a person can. Plant near live OLE must keep the 2.75-metre clearance unless an approved method statement applies, which usually means height and slew limiting on the machine and a Machine Controller (MC) directing movements (the MC wears an armlet or badge with MACHINE CONTROLLER or MC in black letters on a white background). Never guide a machine towards the wires, and stop the work if limiting devices are not set as briefed.
If a machine touches the OLE, the general advice is for the operator to stay in the cab, because stepping down while touching the machine can complete a path to earth. If fire forces them out, they should jump clear without touching the machine and the ground at the same time, land with feet together and shuffle away. Nobody on the ground should touch the machine until the ECO has confirmed the electricity is off and it is safe to approach.
Contacting the ECO
You can contact the ECO directly, or ask another person to do so; if someone asks you to call on their behalf, get all the necessary information first (HB16 section 5). When you contact the ECO you must state:
- your name, job title and employer;
- the line or lines concerned;
- the location (for example the nearest bridge, station, signal, block marker or other structure);
- the number on the nearest OLE structure or identifying plate;
- the telephone or radio call number you are using, so the ECO can contact you.
If the ECO gives you a message identification number, state it each time you speak to the ECO.
Emergency Switch-Off
An emergency switch-off is carried out by the ECO when it is essential to switch off the electricity immediately because someone is in danger from live OLE. The ECO switches off all lines between neutral sections, or between a neutral section and the end of the electrified line; in some places equipment shortens the area switched off.
Warning
An emergency switch-off of the OLE does not mean that train running has been stopped. Stopping trains is a separate action through the signaller.
You must immediately contact the ECO (or arrange for this to be done) if you become aware of:
- a derailment;
- a fire on a vehicle, a train or the lineside;
- a person in contact with, or in danger of coming into contact with, the OLE;
- any other incident or emergency that requires, or is likely to require, the electricity to be switched off.
When you contact the ECO you must first say "This is an emergency call", then tell the ECO the reason the electricity needs to be switched off, whether any person is in danger from live OLE, and whether the emergency services are waiting to give assistance. If you are not at the site, relay information between the ECO and the site.
Stay in contact until you have been assured that the electricity has been switched off and the OLE has been made safe to be approached but not touched, or that other arrangements have been made. The ECO decides who will be the person in charge of electrical emergency (PICEE). The PICEE identifies themselves to people arriving on site, tells the officer in charge of each emergency service about the OLE and which parts are switched off, keeps passengers clear of the OLE if they leave a train away from a platform, tells the ECO about any handover, and warns everyone before the electricity is switched back on.
| Emergency switch-off | Overhead line permit (Form C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Remove the supply immediately because someone is in danger | Planned work on or near isolated equipment |
| Earthed? | No | Yes, isolated and earthed |
| What you may do | Approach but not touch, once the ECO has given the assurance | Work within the permit limits |
| Are trains stopped? | Not necessarily | Not necessarily |
Rescuing a Person
HB16 section 7 says you must make sure the OLE is isolated and earthed before you attempt to rescue a person who is within 2.75 metres (9 feet) of the OLE, a pantograph or roof-mounted equipment, unless you are sure about all of the following:
- the electricity is switched off;
- the person is alive and can be reached from ground level;
- the person is more than 600 mm (2 feet) away from the OLE, pantograph or roof equipment and anything touching it;
- you, and anything you are holding, will not come within 600 mm of that equipment or anything touching it.
The PTS handbook gives the same picture from the rescuer's point of view:
- do not approach a casualty while the OLE is live if they are in contact with the OLE, within 2.75 metres of it, or if any part of them is above the OLE;
- wait until the ECO has arranged an emergency isolation and assured you the electricity has been switched off. Even then there may be a residual voltage, so cover your hands with something dry and non-conductive, such as dry clothing, before touching the person;
- if the electricity cannot be switched off immediately, you may attempt a rescue only if the casualty is at least 2.75 metres from any live OLE, or anything in contact with it, and neither of you moves within that distance during the rescue.
An electricity company's overhead power line has fallen near the railway. Under Handbook 1, how close may you go?
Within 1 metre, using a wooden pole to push the line clear of the track
Close enough to stand on the running rail while you wave a red flag
No closer than 5 metres (about 5 yards) to the line or anything touching it, until the electricity company confirms it is safe
Anywhere, once ten minutes have passed since it fell
Why must you never use a stick, pole or rope to remove an object caught in live overhead line equipment?
Objects caught in the OLE become railway property and must be logged first
Removing them without a possession jams the facing point locks
Objects in the OLE block GSM-R signals needed for emergency calls
Handbook 16 forbids it unless you are specially trained and authorised, and electricity can track or arc through damp, dirty or carbon-fibre materials to you
The ECO has confirmed an emergency switch-off of the OLE after an accident. What is the status of the equipment?
It is isolated and earthed, so anyone may touch it
It is safe to approach but not to touch, it is not earthed, and train running has not necessarily stopped
Train running has stopped, but the OLE is still live
An overhead line permit has automatically been issued to the COSS
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.