Transport for Wales release further update on Powys train crash
Network Rail and Transport for Wales have released a joint statement about the collision between two trains in Powys that resulted in the death of a male passenger.
TfW shared: “The Cambrian line between Machynlleth and Shrewsbury will remain closed until at least the end of Friday 25 October following a collision between two trains on Monday night.
“The incident is currently under investigation by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and will move to a recovery operation to remove the affected trains over the coming days.
“Both TfW and Network Rail would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone in the local community for the overwhelming level of support they have provided during this difficult incident.
“A replacement bus operation will remain in place calling at all stations on the route and customers should check before they travel and allow for journeys to take longer than usual.
“Services between Machynlleth and Pwllheli/Aberystwyth and between Shrewsbury and Birmingham International will continue to run as planned.”
“Slippery rails”
The two Transport for Wales (TfW) trains collided head-on near Talerddig in Powys at 7.26pm on Monday night, resulting in the death of a male passenger in his 60s from a suspected heart attack.
Four other people suffered serious injuries, and a further 11 sustained injuries requiring hospital treatment.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said the condition of the track on the approach to the collision point meant “adhesion” between wheels and rails was “relatively low”.
It said this suggested an Aberystwyth-bound train may have slid while braking, causing it to crash at a speed of around 15mph into a stationary train destined for Shrewsbury.
TfW said on Wednesday its services were running at a reduced speed across large parts of its network “due to slippery rails”.
Routes affected include between Wrexham General and Bidston, between Swansea and Shrewsbury, between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog, between Tenby and Pembroke Dock, between Holyhead and Llandudno Junction, and between Frodsham and Chester.
On Wednesday evening, Network Rail and Transport for Wales said the Cambrian line between Machynlleth and Shrewsbury would remain closed until at least the end of Friday.
They said a “recovery operation” would take place to remove the crashed trains over the coming days, adding that a replacement bus operation would remain in place on the route.
Monday’s crash happened on the Cambrian line in a rural location with a single track, close to a passing loop where trains travelling in opposite directions can pass each other.
Network Rail said one of its railhead treatment trains – which tackle autumn leaf fall – ran along the line where the crash occurred and the passing loop on Sunday night.
Disruption
An internal log of what happened during the crash shows the driver of the train for Aberystwyth reported they entered the loop as planned but were “unable to stop due to the railhead conditions”, causing the train to pass a stop signal.
A signaller instructed the oncoming train to perform an “immediate stop”, but a collision could not be avoided.
A conductor on the train that slid sustained a “bang to the head” and “possible broken arm”, while the driver of the other train suffered “bleeding” and was initially trapped in their cab because it was damaged.
The RAIB said it will publish a further update on its investigation “in the coming days” once it has gathered and analysed more evidence.
Latest service information can be found HERE
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The lack of infrastructure resilience remains astonishing. Aberystwyth and the entire west coast is connected to the rest of the railway network by one single track. It’s time to reopen the Bangor to Carmarthen line.
Amos, the population density in those regions are tiny. Just who will pay for enormous cost of reopening the Bangor to Carmarthen line as most sections of it have been sold off and great deal also has been built on.??
That’s backwards thinking typically deployed by Whitehall to justify enriching their own patch at the expense of everyone else.
You don’t build infrastructure for what’s there today, you build for what you want it to become in 30 years.
The Carmarthen to Aberystwyth route is largely untouched as can be seen on Channel 4’s “Abandoned railways from above” now available to stream online.
And Caernarfon now has a bypass so the original route can be reclaimed.
The route was closed because it was torturously slow and uncompetitive even against the cars and roads of the 1960s. Even with modern trains it would be a basket case and be unattractive for any north-south journeys outside limited local Aberystwyth – Carmarthen – Swansea demand.
I would dearly like to see a proper north-south line within Wales, but it’s delusional to think it’s simply a case of reopening this poorly-located, circuitous old route. It would be a scandalous waste of money.
A completely new line is of course a fantasy that would be a scandalous waste of money. The right way to secure a proper north-south rail link within Wales is to move the border east to encompass the Marches line. That’s not as unlikely as it seems once English regional government happens and the border counties have to choose between Birmingham/Manchester or Cardiff as their regional capital. But that doesn’t stop Aberystwyth to Carmarthen being worthwhile. With modern rolling stock the original line with some route improvements will easily outperform historic services. Using a business case from the 60s makes… Read more »
I live in Ireland. Not known for its pro rail stance ….. outside of Dublin. In fact county Donegal doesn’t have a single rail line. However the mothballed limerick foynes rail line has been completely refurbed down to an including the track bed replacement bridges for freight use initially. It runs through adare home for the Ryder cup in 2027. Rumour has it there’ll be a passenger service. Go to YouTube and search for the drone video of the whole line to see what can be done. No billions required!
I think it it quiet clear if the train that was meant to stop in the passing loop where the approach speed is 15mph and it in fact ended up over a kilometer past the loop, then this was not just down to leaves on the line.
Network Rail’s experimental new signalling system is supposed to prevent trains speeding if that’s what you’re implying.
‘experimental’
It’s not in use anywhere else in the UK. The Cambrian Line is a “test bed”.
Correct. It was a two car train. The approach speed to the passing loop is 15mph, yet we have interested parties attributing cause to low rail adhesion even before the black box data is available. The most logical explanation is that the westbound train successfully came to a stand on the loop, but then attempted to nudge forward, right up to the stop marker, so then slid. Under manual signal operation a forward permission to stop marker would not be allowed prior to the award of onward single track token, but automatic control does allow such a repositioning as the… Read more »
Are you suggesting Network Rail’s recently upgraded experimental signalling system allows a driver to move a train on a single track line without a token?
ERTMS (the full acronym for the EU standard, originally developed by the French) is not experimental but there are various modules that can be cherry picked, giving other sub-acronyms. Am suggesting the westbound train came to a correct stand in the loop but the driver decide to pull forward to the stop sign at the end of the loop. Automatic blocking (ABS module) due to token absent as the train is accelerating. So emergency brake applied unexpectedly, this producing a slide. A classic example of a safety feature incorrectly being used as a driving aid which in combination of other… Read more »
This system’s use by Network Rail in the UK is experimental and no-one can seem to explain what the recent upgrade was about, as ordered by the Johnson administration in 2020.
But on your hypothesis, how could the train move even one inch without a digital token?
Used to be called a Rule75. When a train once at a stand, even out of position, must request permission to pull forward. Most slides happen at station platforms when a train under poor rail adhesion comes to a cautionary stop short of it’s car mark, and then accelerates to it’s correct car mark. It’s not the absolute velocity that makes a train slide at low speed but the forward momentum, the accelerating force. A stop and then pull forward to a stop sign is the most logical explanation in a loop and thus gives momentum, prior to token exchange.… Read more »
You’re conflicting with your own argument. You suggest a stop and pull forward may have happened before token exchange. Had that turned into a slide, the token would still not have been exchanged so it should not meet an oncoming train.
Not so. You do not need the token to move if still within the confinds of the loop. Manual process is to request permission from signalman to proceed to stop signal, automatic control allows a pull forward within that section. Suggested events. (a) Eastbound slips and struggles up the bank from Llanbrynmair, it has the token. (b) Westbound enters Llanerddig loop at 15mph and correctly comes to a stand well short of stop signal. (c) Expected token Westbound not presented. (d) Westbound train then decides to pull forward with intention to halt at the stop signal to correctly enquire manually for… Read more »
What possible reason could there be to allow the brakes to be released once correctly in the loop, the token has been handed back and there’s an oncoming service in the next block? Was the system faulty, perhaps since the recent upgrade, and regularly needing manual override? Why pull forward to manually enquire about a token when presumably communication is possible from the cab?
Westbound at Talerddig the loop consists of room for a 12car, then an agricultural crossing, then a further 2car of loop left, before a stop signal. The answer to your question, that of motive. Could be the train did a correct stop within the 12car space then performed an allowable (ERTMS) pull forward past the agricultural crossing. A slide starting at this point having acceleration added to any forward momentum. It passed the stop signal, ran the points and being tokenless will automatically issue a GSM emergency stop to any train in the vicinity. This would also explain the eastbound… Read more »
You’ve provided no reason why it should be possible or desirable to move without a token.
Where are you getting this “15 mph” limit from? The Cambrian Line now works entirely in km/h so it can’t be an official current source.
More importantly, it’s easy to interpret your post as implying that the driver was behaving irresponsibly. I hope that’s not your intention, given that it would be pure conjecture and manifestly unfair. (You have, after all, complained above about other parties jumping to conclusions before the data is analysed.)
A what happened investigation (RAIB) is different from a whodunit investigation. The object is to provide the facts of what happened, without prejudice. Usually such incidents are a result of a number of factors coming together with catastrophic consequence.
An RAIB investigation, I believe, usually publishes an interim report quite quickly so I am assuming that we may have a definitive conclusion within a few weeks or sooner?
Plus is the ERTMS system being installed on the East Coast Line? Where a mistake could be even more catastrophic.
ERTMS, all modules, have been operational on HS1 between St Pancras and Ashford International for a number of years without incident. It includes dynamic token exchange on loops and crossovers at Ashford and Stratford as well as between Southeastern trains and Eurostar.
HS1 uses TVM-430.
Transmission Voie Machine is the core functionality in the French language (they invented it) for what the EU overall standard is now referred to as ERTMS. On HS1 this interfaces with TPWS modules for onward domestic routing.
All the billions blown on uneeded public transport projects in the south and the Senedd doesn’t see fit to even ensure the mid Wales line is safe for purpose. Don’t come at me with the “leaves on the line” 💩, we’ve known about leaves on lines since the late 1800’s. This can be and is dealt with, with proper planning and safety measures. They are sole owners of TFW, when it comes to ensuring the correct investments are placed into line safety and maintenance the buck stops with them, and virtually nothing has been done to this line since devolution… Read more »
The line is owned and run by Network Rail, aka DfT, aka Westminster.