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Major disruption between Taunton and Bristol after a CrossCountry service hit a person at Highbridge earlier today.

The incident has been quite complex requiring controlled evacuation to another train pulled alongside.

I'm currently at Taunton awaiting the 1651 to Bristol which is now going via Westbury.

To give a sense of the complexity of the incident, it occurred around 1230, but disruption is expected until 2200.

Without going into too much detail, BTP have classed the incident as 'special recovery' and refused permission to set back to Highbridge. A GWR unit had been stopped at Bridgwater to assist in passenger evacuation once there were enough staff on site to detrain to ballast. GWR management and NR staff assisting the XC crew.

Thank you readytostart for not only that update, but also the sensitive way it was written. 

From what I have heard it does sound a particularly nasty incident but which, as so often happens, has brought the best out of railway staff across several different companies to assist those involved.

Services resumed around 2015.

I travelled on the 1651 CrossCountry service from Taunton to Bristol TM which was diverted via Westbury.

This train, fortunately an XC HST, picked up the majority of the passengers who had been on the incident train, 1S47, the 0828 from Penzance to Glasgow Central.

Talking with some of the passengers I learnt much of what had happened after the train came to a halt.

Those passengers had been stuck just beyond Highbridge & Burnham for over three hours (the incident occurred at around 1200). They were transferred to a GWR Class 150 which had gone to the incident site ECS and had pulled up alongside the stricken CrossCountry Voyager. A Train Evacuation Bridge (archive picture) (http://www.workingatheightltd.com/news_and_information/news_archive/images/trainevacbridge.jpg) was used to transfer passengers from the Voyager to the Class 150.

The passengers I spoke with were stoic and had nothing but praise for the staff and emergency services dealing with the incident, despite the time it took to rescue them. They were kept fully informed regularly as to why they had to wait so long, and this was done sensitively. The two ladies sat across the aisle from me were headed to Bangor and would miss their last connection from Birmingham, yet they showed more concern for the train driver and the family of the person who died rather than their own predicament. I helped them with estimates of their arrival in Birmingham and the likely options for onward travel.

The chap sat opposite me was a merchant seaman, on 72 hour shore leave from Plymouth, and was headed for Aberdeen. As I left at Bristol TM I didn't get to find out what he ultimately decided to do, but he was initially offered road transport from Bristol or Birmingham or to go as far with CrossCountry as he could, which was Leeds, and take up an offer of overnight accommodation.

I was nearly an hour late at my destination, Avonmouth, and I've been discussing with a train driver friend whether it's morally right to claim delay repay from CrossCountry in these circumstances. He suggested I make the claim, bank the cheque, and donate the equivalent amount to The Samaritans. I think that's an excellent idea and it reminded me of the excellent work The Samaritans do in the area of railway suicides. (I'm aware it's too early to call this incident a suicide - that's the coroner's job - it has however been described 'non-suspicious' by the British Transport Police).

http://www.samaritans.org/your-community/saving-lives-railway/suicide-and-railways/working-prevent-railway-suicide

As always, my thoughts go first to the train driver, then the family of the deceased. Praise also to the CrossCountry, Network Rail and GWR staff at the incident scene and across the wider network. Particularly noteworthy were the number of GWR staff on hand at Taunton station dealing with passengers from the incident train which was operated by a different TOC. Finally, not forgetting the emergency services.

That's the difference between Delay/Repay (which pays out on any delay over the specified minimum, usually 30 mins) and the current, other system (like what GWR use) which considers disruption like this 'outside the cause of the rail industry', and you get nowt.

Poor NR get the total delay minutes on events like this, which is rather unfair I feel. It is more more NR's fault than any TOC's!