Line closed after freight train derailment near Milford Haven - 20 November 2013

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Line closed after freight train derailment near Milford Haven


No-one was injured and the incident has been reported to the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch)).

Part of the rail network is closed after a freight train derailed in Pembrokeshire.

British Transport Police (BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)) said the locomotive and first wagon stayed upright after the "slow speed" incident near Milford Haven at 22:55 GMT on Wednesday evening. No-one was injured and it has been reported to the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB).

A bus service is in place between Milford Haven and Haverfordwest.

"On arrival, officers found that the locomotive and first wagon of a freight train had derailed while travelling at low speed," said a BTP spokesperson. "The locomotive and wagon remained upright. There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident which has been reported to the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB). No one was injured as a result of the incident."

The train was carrying petroleum products from Murco Petroleum Limited's (Murco) Milford Haven Refinery. In a statement the company said there was no "loss of product from the train as a result of the incident".

"Network Rail have now assumed control of the incident and recovery of the train, following emergency response by the police and fire services. Murco is assisting Network Rail and the train operating companies in the recovery process and subsequent investigation into the cause of the derailment."

Dyfed Powys Police said the road has been closed between Steynton and Tiers Cross so that engineers can right the engine.

[phile]

I notice Network Rail using silly language - "no loss of product".    The police are the worst such as a recent example I read that when a PC was being threatened whilst arresting somebody, it was reported by the police as "invading the PCs environment".

[Chris from Nailsea]

An update, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Pembrokeshire rail line to remain closed for days

A section of Pembrokeshire rail line will remain closed for several days after a freight train derailed.

The incident happened near Milford Haven at 22:55 GMT on Wednesday evening.

Network Rail says recovery work is now its priority and it aims to get the line up and running again by Monday.

A bus service is currently replacing train services between Milford Haven and Haverfordwest.

"We are now focusing on recovering the railway line as a priority with an aim to bring the line back by Monday," said a spokesperson for Network Rail. "We have started to move the wagons away and we will inspect and repair the damaged infrastructure as soon as the line is clear.

"The line between Milford and Haverfordwest currently remains closed but alternative services are available and we advise passengers to contact National Rail Enquiries or Arriva Trains Wales for the latest updates."

Arriva Train Wales has also confirmed that its services on the line will be suspended between Haverfordwest and Milford Haven until Monday, 25 November.

[LiskeardRich]

The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) report is somewhat contradictive, paragraph 2 says the loco stayed upright, then the last paragraph says a road is closed whilst they right the loco. Did it stay upright or does it need righting.

[Chris from Nailsea]

To be fair, the update article on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) news site (which I didn't quote in full because a lot of it was just duplicated wording) does say,

Dyfed Powys Police were also forced to close a road between Steynton and Tiers Cross so that engineers could access the train.

A slight correction to their own initial wording there.