Exercise "Side Track" was a Survivor Reception Centre (SRC) exercise organised by the Monmouthshire EPU to test and validate the SRC arrangements and procedures. The exercise took place at the Caldicot Leisure Centre and involved RAYNET, Gwent Police, St John Ambulance, WRVS, the Clergy, Red Cross and various departments from local council offices (Libraries, Social Services, etc.), along with First Great Western Trains.

The exercise was based on a rail incident in the Severn Tunnel with an SRC being set up for those "casualties" who did not require hospital treatment but would still require interviewing by the Police. Around 100 volunteers played out roles as "casualties" and were processed at the SRC.

Gwent RAYNET operators provided radio coverage at the SRC, operating from the Centre Manager's office, Information Desk, Registration Area and First Aid Point. As the exercise was a localised event, 2m handheld radios were used throughout. There was a reasonable amount of message-traffic for RAYNET to handle, though a proposed link to the main Police HQ (at Cwmbran) was not established on the day.

A full report, with pictures, can be found in the October 2006 issue of Gwent RAYNET's newsletter, which is available on our downloads page.

Please click here to read an Exercise "Side Track" report from Monmouthshire County Council's "Community Spirit" magazine