Wales: Quad bikers killed on rail track

[John Ashworth]

Quad bikers killed on rail track

Page last updated at 08:28 GMT, Wednesday, 9 December 2009
BBC

Two men, thought to be in their 20s, travelling on a quad bike have been killed after being hit by a train on tracks in Cardiff.

The incident happened near the Rhymney River Bridge at just after 0400 GMT.

The emergency services are at the scene. No passengers were on board the train which was leaving Cardiff for service at Cheltenham.

Arriva Train Wales have warned passengers to expect delays of up to an hour on Cardiff-Newport services.

Police have said the train was travelling at about 70mph when it struck the quad bike.

Network Rail said all four lines between Cardiff and Newport were immediately closed following the incident.

Two of those lines reopened at 0700 GMT but two of the tracks are damaged and will need repairs.

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: "There was some damage to the track in the area of the collision.

"At the moment we are not able to give an accurate update on what repairs are needed or when they will be completed.

"Obviously at the moment, the clear-up operation is very much still under way there."

Network Rail also confirmed that the train involved in the incident had been a passenger train which was not carrying members of the public.

It had been heading from the Canton depot in Cardiff to Cheltenham for servicing.

First Great Western said the incident was disrupting its services, with delays of around 30 minutes, and the possibility of some short-notice cancellations.

CrossCountry services are also reporting delays on its services out of Cardiff Central of around 50 minutes.