 An investigation into the four deaths is under way |
The wife of a railway worker killed by a runaway trolley says her husband had complained about safety equipment. Christine Waters, 50, said her husband Chris feared new helmets were "more of a danger than safety" because workers could not hear when wearing them.
He and three other men died on Sunday when a wagon rolled downhill from a yard near Tebay and ran into them.
On Monday it emerged a similar incident happened nearby in January 2003, but no one was injured.
Reports suggest the men killed and injured at the weekend could not hear the wagon approaching.
The victims were named as an inquiry into the cause of the accident began.
Braking system
They were Mr Waters, 53, of Morecambe, Lancs, Darren Burgess, 30, and Colin Buckley, 49, from Carnforth, Lancs, and Gary Tindall, 46, of Tebay, Cumbria.
Mrs Waters, who lives with the couple's daughters Donna, 21, and Anna, 16, said her husband was "very up" on safety and had complained about the new safety helmets.
She said: "He said when they were digging it would fall off and they were always being told to put them back on. He also mentioned that they couldn't hear.
"They wouldn't have been able to hear (the trailer) because they were so close to the motorway and with the gear they were working with and with those stupid helmets, they wouldn't have been able to hear it."
Investigators will look at how the trolley separated from its engine.
Rail union the RMT said it was "seriously concerned" about safety as it emerged Network Rail held a two-day inquiry last year into a similar incident involving the same rail infrastructure company, Carillion Rail.
A series of recommendations were made after a rail trailer was uncoupled from a vehicle, 20 miles from Sunday's tragedy.
Another rail vehicle caught it before anyone was hurt.
Network Rail said all the recommendations from that investigation had been adopted, leading to a new requirement that all trolley vehicles be fitted with a braking system.
British Transport Police and the Health and Safety Executive will also look at why the men in Sunday's incident were not alerted, despite reports that colleagues up the line had tried to warn them via mobile phones.
The wagon - carrying sections of track - was stationary at a depot when it became detached from a train and rolled towards the men, who had no lookout because the line had been closed for the work.
The accident left three others with leg injuries.
Colin Buckley's stepfather David Boardley, 71, who worked on the railways for 40 years, said he hoped the death of his "lovely" stepson had "not been as a result of neglect".
He said: "I was watching the news and I saw that four people had been killed at Tebay.
"I went to where he worked and there was a chap there I knew very well who told me it was him. I was devastated."
Albert Young, a neighbour and former colleague of Gary Tindall, said: "He was a great man and a grand worker and a good husband."
If the inquiry found a company or individual to be at fault, criminal charges could follow, a police spokesman said.
TEBAY RAIL ACCIDENT 1. Wagon detaches from locomotive at Scout Green depot
2. Rolls down incline at speed of 40mph
3. Hits maintenance team killing 4 men and injuring 3 others
4. Continues down track for a further mile before stopping |
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He said when they were digging [his safety helmet] would fall off and they were always being told to put them back on - he also mentioned that they couldn't hear 
Listen to Christine Waters interview 
