Train driver secures £41k
Added (2009-Feb-15)
A man who was nearly killed by a runaway train has received compensation of £41,000.
Train driver Frank Dolan had been driving a recovery train to retrieve a broken down freight carrier on the West Coast Mainline in August 2004 when the incident occurred.
A mile south of Carlisle's main railway station, the 63-year-old and three of his colleagues stopped to discuss their next move, local paper the News & Star reports.
They realised that the freight train's brakes had failed and it was heading in their direction, quickly gathering speed.
Mr Dolan and his workmates were forced to exit their train in haste and he fell in the process, cracking a number of ribs.
He claims that, as well as suffering physical injuries, the incident left him with mental scars.
Mr Dolan said: "It was always my ambition to work on the railways and I achieved that, but as a result of this accident I'll never work on a train again. It's been four years now and I still get flashbacks."
Recently, he agreed to an out-of-court settlement with his former employer EWS Railways - a freight train operator which runs services across Britain and into Europe.
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