Train hits object on Worcestershire railway line (BBC News 22/08/2012)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

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

A train has hit an object on the rail line between Worcester and Hereford.

British Transport Police (BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)) said the 15:22 First Great Western service from Great Malvern to London Paddington struck the object at 15:41 BST near Sling Lane, Malvern.

The train was damaged, but did not derail.

First Great Western said no-one on board the train was hurt.

The object has now been removed.

A BTP spokesman said: "An investigation is under way to discover how the object came to be on the railway line and whether it had been placed there deliberately."

It was reported that the train struck a 15ft piece of rail laid across the tracks with the rail ending up wedged under the second axle of the leading bogie. Following safety checks and scene of crime investigating, the train was able to move under its own power at reduced speed to Worcester Shrub Hill where it terminated over two hours late.

Seems very likely that only luck prevented the train from derailing. Anyone know whether this was a Turbo or a 180?

EDIT: Small correction to the train details as reported by the BBC. The 1522 from Great Malvern terminates at Oxford not London Paddington.

[Andy W]

I was at Shrub Hill at the time - meeting my daughter of a train from Birmingham

It was turbo 165117

[Worcester_Passenger]

And the Turbo was still parked in the centre siding at Shrub Hill yesterday (Thu Aug 23).

[Worcester_Passenger]

And the local paper's coverage can be found at http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/worcester/9892256.Vandals_try_to_derail_train/, including a candidate for most boring photograph of the year.

[IndustryInsider]

Hopefully the idiots have been caught and will get a severe sentence.

http://www.malverngazette.co.uk/news/9929626.Railway_vandalism_arrests/

[JayMac]

I need to find out who they are so I can launch a civil claim for compensation, after their actions left me stuck in the hell hole that is Bromsgrove. 

[Richard Fairhurst]

Ah, Bromsgrove.

I remember, back in Railtrack days, the late unlamented infrastructure company had a self-congratulatory poster that it put up, proclaiming "We are working on your station".

At Oxford, this was graffitied to say "...at the cost of our heritage".

At Bromsgrove, it was graffitied to read "We are w*nking on your station".

Sums up the difference really.