Grayrigg derailment
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
| Grayrigg derailment | |
|---|---|
 A Pendolino train like the one involved in the accident. | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Date | 23 February 2007, 20:15 GMT |
| Location | Grayrigg, near Kendal, Cumbria |
| Line | West Coast Main Line |
| Cause | Unknown |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Deaths | 1[1] |
| Injured | 22[1] |
The Grayrigg derailment was a railway accident that occurred at 20:15 GMT on 23 February 2007, at Grayrigg, Cumbria, in north-west England.
Incident
The 17:15 Virgin West Coast Pendolino service from London Euston to Glasgow Central, headcode 1S83, travelling on the West Coast Main Line derailed for an as yet unknown reason, possibly points failure.[2].
Reports from passengers said that the carriages of the train began rocking and swaying very badly before the train crashed.
The train was reported to have been travelling at up to 95 mph(150 km/h) when it derailed.[1] The train, unit 390 033 "City of Glasgow", had 9 carriages and was reported to have been carrying around 120 passengers. The train was reported as being evacuated at around midnight. An 84 year old female passenger died in the accident, and 5 passengers were reported to have serious injuries.[1] Emergency crews scanned the train with thermal imagery equipment to make sure there was no one still inside. Up to 500 rescuers attended the scene, and at least twelve ambulances and at least five fire engines, 3 Royal Air Force Sea King helicopters, two mountain rescue teams, and one police helicopter. Rain and dark and narrow country lanes impeded the rescue work[1].
According to reports from BBC News[1] and Sky News,[3] a number of passengers were injured in the accident, and three RAF helicopters and the Merseyside Police helicopter were dispatched. iVirtua Community (UK) News reported that emergency vehicles were experiencing very difficult conditions, and being towed away by farm vehicles or tractors, and that helicopters experienced difficulty accessing the area due to steep terrain, slowing the operation.[4].
Cumbria ambulance service initially reported that the train was six carriages long and that the second carriage has slipped down an embankment, with the carriage trapping up to eight people. Later, a BBC News reporter at the scene reported that all but one carriage has been upturned; live BBC TV coverage at 08:15 the following morning showed that some of the rear carriages were still on the tracks or nearly so. The first carriage reversed ends as it fell, and one carriage in the middle of the train ended up at an angle with one end in the air. The front two carriages were the worst affected, and the driver was trapped for around an hour while specialist cutting equipment was used to free him from his cab[5].
Hospitals in the area, including some over the Scottish border in Dumfries and Galloway were put on standby, but not all received patients. According to BBC News, five passengers were admitted to Royal Preston Hospital in critical condition. Police later released a statement revealing that one passenger, 84 year old Margaret Masson from Glasgow, had died after being admitted to hospital from the crash site.
Aftermath
Sky News reports that a family liaison centre was set up in Glasgow Central Station for worried relatives.[3]
Within three hours of the crash the site had been sealed off with a five mile cordon. The line is expected to be closed for two weeks, with Virgin Trains saying that the line may not re-open to passenger services until 5 March.[6]
Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group chairman, visited the scene of the crash at 11am the following morning to comment on the incident and during his news conference at the site said that he regarded the driver, named as Ian Black from Scotland,[5] as a hero, as he remained in his seat to ensure the safety of other passengers.
Cause
Early statements by Chief Superintendent Martyn Ripley of British Transport Police suggest that investigations will focus on a set of points. Experts have compared the cause to that of the Potters Bar derailment in 2002.[7] Reports also suggest that the section of track underwent maintenance in the week leading up to the crash. Investigations have been launched by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate.[5]
RMT rail union leader Bob Crow said on BBC News that a points failure was responsible for the incident. It was also reported that the track had undergone maintenance work within the preceding week.
As a result of the suspicion that faulty points were the cause of the crash, Network Rail began checking 600 to 700 sets of points across the country as a "precautionary measure"[6].
The accident site
The area near the accident, south of Tebay in Cumbria, is near the scene of a fatal rail accident in 2004 when four rail workers were killed by a runaway track maintenance trailer.[8] It had also been the scene of a previous derailment accident in 1947.[9]
The site can be seen, photographed before the crash, in aerial photography available here.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "One dead in Cumbria train crash". BBC News Online. 24 February 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Serious incident in Cumbria - Statement No. 3 - 24 February 2007" (Press release). Virgin Trains. 2007-02-24. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "One Dead, Dozens Injured". Sky News. 24 February 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Major Train crash in Cumbria - Virgin Pendelino". iVirtua Community UK.
- ^ a b c "Crash inquiry to focus on points". BBC News Online. 24 February 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6393867.stm
- ^ "Crash sparks national rail checks". BBC News. 24 February 2007.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Pair jailed for Tebay rail deaths". BBC News Online. 17 March, 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Ministry of Transport Accident Report Between Grayrigg and Oxenholme, L.M.S.R., May 18, 1947". Railway Gazette. Retrieved 2007-02-24.