Weak railway switches

During the installation of the new points systems, it was revealed that a number of the switches were of an unsatisfactory condition. Subsequent independent laboratory examinations revealed that the broken switches had an excessive percentage of a particular metal, making the structure fragile and causing them to break under normal loads.

There were also questions concerning the installation and whether correct procedures were conducted by the contractor.

Together with ITIC the designer reviewed the initial brief in conjunction with their initial design processes and drafts, and this revealed that all appropriate processes had been implemented in line with industry standards and that the reason for the failure was the manufacturing process and installation. These investigations were further backed up by expert evidence obtained by ITIC which assisted in the successful defence of the designer’s interest in this case.

The course of the investigation and subsequent defence were covered in full by ITIC.