Trains collide near Salisbury

[John Ashworth]

Emergency services on scene after trains collide near Salisbury

Emergency services have scrambled to respond to a collision of two trains near Salisbury on Sunday night, in a critical incident that left one train carriage derailed... The British Transport Police (BTP) said: “There have been no fatalities, however a number of people have been injured. “Most of these people are walking wounded however a small number, including the driver, have been taken to hospital where their injuries are being assessed...

Salisbury train crash: Major incident as two trains collide

The collision happened near London Road and involved a South Western Railway and a Great Western service. A train driver, who was trapped, was treated by paramedics. In total, 17 people were taken to hospital. The crash happened at 18:46 GMT when one train hit an object in a tunnel, and the second train then collided with it due to signalling problems...

[John Ashworth]

Salisbury train crash driver suffers ‘life-changing’ injuries

A train driver suffered “life-changing” injuries and 13 passengers, including a child, needed hospital treatment after two trains collided as they entered a tunnel in Salisbury.

British Transport Police (BTP) said on Monday that they could not rule out foul play but officers do not believe one of the trains was derailed as it hit an object on the line, as had originally been thought.

It is understood that police and the rail investigation branch are focusing on issues including the signalling and points, human error and weather conditions at the time.

Speaking outside Salisbury railway station, Supt Lisa Garrett, of BTP, said the crash happened at about 6.45pm on Sunday when the Great Western Railway (GWR) service from Southampton to Cardiff collided with a South Western Railway train from London Waterloo to Honiton in Devon as both entered the Fisherton tunnel, close to the city centre...

The little map which comes with this story suggest the collision occurred at a junction, with both trains travelling in the same direction and hitting each other obliquely as they reached the junction at the same time, travelling in the same direction.

[John Ashworth]

Salisbury train crash may have been caused by leaves on line

Inspectors from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said early findings pointed to “low adhesion between the wheels and the track” as the reason why the South Western service failed to stop at the junction where two lines merged and crashed into the side of a Great Western train. Such low adhesion is most often caused by leaves on the line. The collision was the first significant crash between two moving trains in passenger service in two decades...

“From the initial evidence we have collected, we know that that the passage of the Great Western train travelling from Eastleigh across Salisbury tunnel junction was being protected by a red signal. At this junction, trains coming from Eastleigh merge with those from Basingstoke, so the South Western service coming from Basingstoke was required to stop at that signal. Unfortunately, it did not stop and struck the side of the Great Western train at an angle such that both trains derailed and ran alongside each other into the tunnel just beyond the junction. “Initial evidence indicates that the South Western train driver applied the brakes as it approached the junction and the red signal, but the train was unable to stop before passing the signal. This evidence suggests that the most likely cause of this was wheelslide, almost certainly a result of low adhesion between the wheels and the track. We are continuing to pursue this as a line of investigation amongst others”...