Level Crossing incident at Whitland, Carmarthenshire on 19 December 2011

[whole diary]

[RailCornwall]

Reports of a lorry / train collision in the Whitland area on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) News Channel in the past twenty minutes. 'Four injuries' reported.

[RailCornwall]

West of Whitland at this crossing according to BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) News

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=whitland+wales&hl=en&ll=51.82119,-4.631102&spn=0.006592,0.014699&num=20&safe=off&hnear=Whitland,+Carmarthenshire,+United+Kingdom&t=h&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=51.821949,-4.631283&panoid=dI7u45xmsdVQcJPGvWW9_w&cbp=12,181.77,,0,15&z=16

[kazbear]

From BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Wales

19 December 2011 Last updated at 11:05

Train and lorry collide on Carmarthenshire level crossing 

A passenger train from Pembrokeshire has collided with a lorry carrying hay at a level crossing in Carmarthenshire.

Emergency services say three people on the Milford Haven to Manchester service suffered minor injuries in the crash near Whitland at 09:50 GMT.

Oxygen was given to one and another was treated for a head wound before they were taken to hospital.

Arriva Trains Wales (ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)))) said replacement buses would run between Carmarthen and Milford Haven.

All train services on the south Wales line west of Carmarthen have been stopped.

ATW said the train involved was the 0910 Milford Haven to Manchester service, with between 50 and 60 passengers on board.

It was not derailed in the incident and BBC Wales reporter Aled Scourfield, close to the scene, said the lorry was still upright.

The incident happened at the Llanboidy level crossing on a minor road near a spot called Crossing Cottage.

British Transport Police (BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)), Dyfed-Powys Police and paramedics were at the scene between Whitland and Henllan Amgoed.

The Welsh Ambulance Service said two ambulances and the Wales Air Ambulance were sent to the scene.

Crews treated three people at scene for minor injuries before taking them to West Wales general hospital in Carmarthen for further treatment.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue said it appeared the crossing barrier came down on the lorry before the train collided with it.

A BTP spokesman said: "An investigation is underway into the cause of the collision, including how the vehicle came to be on the tracks, and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch)) has been notified."

Engineers and rail managers have gone to assess the damage and help passengers.

[Heath Cardiff]

DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) involved was 175002.

Views of collision in this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-16248179

[inspector_blakey]

Looks like a frightening incident from the pictures. Very fortunate that injuries were not worse, and looks like 175002 will be out of commission for some considerable time to come.

Interesting to note that (assuming the reports are correct) this happened at a half-barrier level crossing; my immediate assumption was that it would have been an unprotected occupation farm crossing.

[Timmer]

Looks like a 'write off' to me. The front part of the carriage is badly damaged. Good to hear that there weren't any serious injuries with the train bearing the brunt of the impact.

[Rhydgaled]

A write off? Given there's no slack at all in the ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) 175 fleet, that's very bad news if true.

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Wales today suggested the lorry was stuck on the level crossing with nobody in it when the train hit, is this correct as earlier posts on this topic suggest the lorry went through the lowered barrier.

Exactly what time did this happen, is the unit from the 09:56 from Fishguard stuck west of the level crossing? If so, how long until they can move the broken 175 and get the sprinter out?

[Jez]

The main thing is that no-one was badly injured in this accident, however it will mean ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) 175s will be even more stretched.

The one that forms the 09xx from Milford to Manchester ends up going back from Manchester at 15.30 to Pembroke Dock - tonight it was a 150 and 158 making a 4 car (at least from Cardiff onwards it was) so im guessing a 150 and/or 158 will cover the diagram the 175002 would be on.

[inspector_blakey]

From what I can tell from the pictures, although the front cab is badly smashed up the structure of the rest of the vehicle looks relatively intact - I don't know how the 175s are constructed but if it's possible to graft on a new cab then might be a bit soon to dismiss the unit as a write-off. That said though, even if it isn't written off it's likely to be in the shop for a long time being repaired.

As ever, probably best to remind everyone to refrain from speculation about precise causes until more facts have been established.

[Chris from Nailsea]

... and meanwhile, with our apologies for overlooking the niceties in all this excitement: welcome to the forum, Heath Cardiff!

Chris 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Whitland train crash: Lorry driver, 48, is arrested

The driver of a hay lorry hit by a train on a level crossing in Carmarthenshire has been arrested.

Seven people on the Milford Haven to Manchester service suffered minor injuries near Whitland at 09:50 GMT.

Passengers were led to safety and shuttle buses are now running between Milford Haven and Carmarthen. Engineers are assessing the damage.

British Transport Police (BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)) said a 48-year-old local man was being held on suspicion of endangering safety.

Some passengers said they were amazed no-one was seriously hurt.

Five people were taken to hospital after the crash.

Arriva Trains Wales said just under 60 passengers were on its 09:10 Milford Haven to Manchester service when the crash happened at the Llanboidy level crossing on a minor road near a spot called Crossing Cottage.

BTP's sector commander for Wales, Sandra England, said: "Our investigation is continuing into the cause of the collision, including piecing together exactly how the vehicle came to be on the tracks at the time. As part of that investigation, the driver of the vehicle, a 48-year-old man from Llanboidy, Whitland, has been arrested this afternoon on suspicion of endangering safety. He has been taken to a police station in Haverfordwest, where he is assisting my officers with their enquiries.

"Measures are now in place to remove the vehicle from the tracks but in the meantime, the road on both sides of the crossing remains closed."

Passenger Skip Maloney told BBC Wales of the moments leading up to the crash. "The [train] driver slowed down just before we hit," he said.

He said he carried out first aid on a woman sat behind him but no-one suffered serious injuries. "I think everyone was suffering from shock a bit," he added.

Juan Giner who was travelling home to Spain said: "Everything was fine and suddenly the train stopped in a very strong way - very dramatically. The train continued for 100 yards moving the lorry along. It's incredible that the driver of the train survived because the whole of his room was completely crushed. I'm really thinking this could be an incredible tragedy."

Network Rail said all passengers had been led to safety. A spokesperson said: "Engineers are currently assessing the damage to the rail infrastructure and train respectively. Emergency repairs will be carried out once investigation is completed."

Work has started to prepare for emergency repairs and a crane has been commissioned to lift the lorry away from the track.

Network Rail engineers are expected to work through the night to restore services to normal as quickly as possible.

Train services between Carmarthen and Milford Haven have been cancelled and an amended service will be provided for by Arriva Trains Wales from Wednesday morning.

Passengers are advised to check with National Rail Enquiries or Arriva Trains Wales before starting their journey.

A spokesperson for the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about)) said it had an inspector on site.

"ORR will work with the BTP and other agencies to find out exactly what happened and quickly identify the causes of this incident," they added.

[Timmer]

Looking at some side on pictures on the daily mail website, the damage to the main body of the carriage doesn't look as bad as it does from the overhead picture on the bbc website so maybe it can be saved. Just the cab that is very badly damaged. Amazing the driver wasn't seriously injured.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2076111/Three-injured-train-collides-lorry-trapped-level-crossing.html

[anthony215]

From the pictures it looks as if it is just the cab of 175002 which would need to be replaced however we dont know about the damage to the undercarriage.

The fact that the trains remained on the rails and the only damage that can be seen is to the cab just goes to show how well built the class 175's are.

Looks like we can expect more 150's to run up on the Cardiff - Holyhead services with ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) now having to really stretch the 175 fleet until 175002 is back in action.

I am glad that this accident was not as bad as it could have been and I wish everyone a speedy recovery especially the driver.

[readytostart]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Whitland train crash: Lorry driver, 48, is arrested

The driver of a hay lorry hit by a train on a level crossing in Carmarthenshire has been arrested.

Will they let him out on bale though?! < Foolish attempt at lightening the mood.

[inspector_blakey]