Emergency services came together to stage a train derailment exercise to test their readiness to respond to emergency situations.

Operation Salthouse #2 took place on Thursday, September 12 and it included multiple injuries, further complicated by a flask of nuclear material being transported in the opposite direction.

The police, British Transport Police, fire and ambulance services, Northern Trains, Direct Rail Services, and Network Rail’s teams, supported by Radsafe, all collaborated to secure the scene and evacuate the train’s passengers.

Passengers were played by local extras and representatives from Casualties Union and Furness College.

The Rail Incident Office from Network Rail coordinated the multi-agency response, supported by a tactical incident leader.

(Image: Network Rail) The exercise also provided an opportunity for emergency responders to conduct the first ever live trial of the '10 second triage' protocol, developed in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing.

Wendy Potter, Network Rail’s operations manager for Cumbria, said: "By holding detailed scenarios such as this, we help to make sure that our processes are robust, and that we are well prepared to keep our passengers and communities safe.

"I’d like to say a huge thanks to our partners from Northern, Direct Rail Services and the emergency services for taking part in the exercise.

"Events like this are vital for testing the way we will work together in an emergency.

"We will review the exercise in detail and the lessons we learn will be implemented going forwards."

(Image: Network Rail)