A FIGHT among members of two rival political groups at Leeds rail station ended with two men falling under a train as a live emergency exercise swung in to action.
The fictitious scenario was played out yesterday morning as Network Rail teamed up with emergency services to test emergency planning procedures.
Two actors from Amputees in Action played the parts of two victims who had lost limbs after falling under a train as it pulled in to the station.
Theatrical make up and fake blood was used to make the nightmare scenario appear more realistic.
Around 30 other actors feigned shock and panic as a major disaster alert involving all emergency services was played out.
Network Rail media relations manager Rachel Lowe, said: “We had excellent support from all the emergency services and he exercise ran very smoothly.
“We do emergency planning all the time. This exercises are invaluable for checking what we have down on paper actually works. We have to plan for the worst and hope for the best.”
Leeds station manager Helen Dawson, said: “Leeds is one of the busiest stations outside London with more than 100,000 people passing through on a normal day.
“Exercises like this one help to build relationships with the emergency services so that we can respond safely and effectively to an emergency if we need to.
Organisations involved in the exercise included Network Rail; Northern Rail; British Transport Police; West Yorkshire Police; West Yorkshire Fire Brigade; Yorkshire Ambulance Service; and British Red Cross.
Each organisation has a plan to deal with an emergency at the station.
Yesterday’s exercise was designed to help to make sure those plans work together and give the organisations opportunity to address any inconsistencies.
The exercise did not involve any disruption to train services and the station remained open to the public throughout.
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