WORK on the Borders Railway stopped for a week following a horrific accident in Galashiels.

Last Tuesday a 49-year-old worker suffered serious leg injuries after being crushed by a concrete sleeper.

It is the latest accident involving BAM Nuttall workers on the rail line.

And led to two Health and Safety Executive Prohibition Notices being served on the contractors against two pieces of plant machinery.

A spokeswoman for HSE told us: “We are investigating an incident in Galashiels last week. As a result of the initial enquiries two Prohibition Notices have been served.” It is understood the construction worker from Ayrshire was unloading concrete railway sleepers at Wilderhaugh, aided by another man operating a crane, when the accident happened on Tuesday at 12.30pm.

He was rushed to Borders General Hospital before being transferred to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

By the following day all track laying along the 30-mile line had stopped to allow for a full safety appraisal to be conducted.

We asked BAM Nuttall to comment on the accident and the Prohibition Notices served against them but they declined.

Although the Prohibition Notices were only for two pieces of equipment - it is understood BAM stopped all track-laying immediately.

Work recommenced at the start of this week. On Monday a Network Rail spokesman said: “A contractor suffered a serious leg injury while working on the Borders Railway project near Galashiels. “We are working closely with our main contractor BAM to support our colleague and his family.

“The incident is currently under investigation and it would be inappropriate for Network Rail to comment on the circumstances of the incident further at this time.

“The project team took the voluntary decision to stand the site down for the remainder of the week to allow a full investigation and review to take place, however, our teams will begin progressively returning to work today (Monday).” This latest accident comes less than a month after a dumper truck driver on the railway was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries.

The 44-year-old man from Tweedmouth was trapped for around 40 minutes at Bowland, just outside Galashiels, before being freed by fire crews using hydraulic equipment.

Galashiels councillor Sandy Aitchison believes last week’s stand down and safety review following the incident at Wilderhaugh was the right decision - even if it means delays.

He said: “Safety has to be paramount. This is a huge construction job and we are indebted to the men who working on the railway.

“A small delay in delivering the railway or a readjustment in time-scales is a small price to pay if we can guarantee the safety of the workers.

“We don’t want to see any more accidents like this one. Our thoughts are with the man’s family at this terrible time.” The 30-mile Borders Railway between Tweedbank and Edinburgh is scheduled to open on September 6, 2015.