Collision, Aviemore

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From The Evening Standard

Two people have been taken to hospital after a collision between two trains in northern Scotland.

The crash happened at Aviemore Railway Station, in the Cairngorms, at 7.10pm.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) sent eight appliances to the scene.

Paramedics took two casualties to hospital by ambulance and three other people were treated at the scene.

A spokesman for SFRS said: “We were alerted at 7.10pm on Friday to reports of a collision involving two trains at Aviemore Railway Station.

Picture - stock from Aviemore.  Haven't a clue whether to post "wider picture" or heritage.  Suspect "wider picture" as the old stuff will have been put to bed hours ago!

[grahame]

Yahoo! News adds

MULTIPLE casualties have been reported after two trains collided at a Highlands railway station.

A train crashed into a stationary carriage at Aviemore Railway Station at around 7pm on Friday.

It is understood that one of the trains involved in the crash is the iconic Flying Scotsman.

and then

A spokesman for Network Rail said: “It’s on a heritage railway line, it’s not our infrastructure.

“The main line is shut while emergency services respond.

“We are saying to passengers to check before travelling.”

Oops - topic move coming up!

[grahame]

The Scotsman

The incident occurred when the Flying Scotsman locomotive was being shunted into place to be coupled with the Royal Scotsman train carriages, which were stationary.

A spokesman for Royal Scotsman train owner Belmond described the collision as “minor” and said there had been no major injuries.

"We are grateful for the prompt attendance by paramedics who were on site to assist the few passengers and team members who sustained minor injuries,” the spokesman said.

[grahame]

Update


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66970791?at_medium=RSS^▸ (Regional Spatial Strategy)&at_campaign=KARANGA

Safety checks are to be carried out on the Flying Scotsman locomotive after it was involved in a crash at a railway station in the Highlands.

Two people were treated in hospital following the low-speed collision with the Royal Scotsman train at Aviemore on Friday.

The world-famous locomotive had been scheduled to be running passenger trips over the weekend.

But it was withdrawn ahead of a full safety inspection on Monday.

[Rob on the hill]

Video of the collision:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KNRGZdNNLY

[grahame]

Video of the collision:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KNRGZdNNLY

Interesting to see the video, and clearly something didn't go as it should - people should NOT end up being taken to hospital.

That said, sad that some people have followed up suggesting what went wrong, who was to blame for it going wrong, and what their sentence should be for that.  Kangaroo court!   I am reminded of at least one collision in recent memory where initial looks were at the driver who passed a signal at danger, but later analysis found that the train had failed to respond to a brake application of the sort that's made thousands of times every day.

[eightonedee]

Having seen the video - should perhaps the title of this thread be changed to something like "Flying Scotsman in shunting accident at Aviemore"?

[broadgage]

The speed certainly looks excessive to an informed amateur and what about the requirement to stop short of the train before moving forward ?
Misjudgement by driver ? or brakes ineffective ?

Whatever the cause, I agree that "shunting accident" is a more accurate description than that used.

[GBM]

Prefer 'shunting incident' rather than accident.
Far less dramatic, but the press do like drama.

[Electric train]

It's a collision during a shunting move

My observations / opinions -
There seemed to be quite a number of people in the cab
Lack of a "Shunter" on the ground to hand signal the movement especially with a tender leading
Loco should have stopped short a chain or so short and then moved at less than walking pace

I wonder if the RIAB and ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) report may recommend passengers should be de trained during such moves and certainly no one should be on an coach observation platform

[Red Squirrel]

I've found a better video of Flying the Scotsman's incident here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1708445350942400697

[eXPassenger]

I've found a better video of Flying the Scotsman's incident here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1708445350942400697

LOL^▸ (laughing out loud)

[RichardB]

I was amazed to see people on the observation balcony at the back of the train as the loco shunted back on to the stock.  Sad to hear of the injuries and good that no-one was badly injured.

Thankfully the Coronation Beavertail Observation Car wasn't at that end of the train.  That doesn't bear thinking about.

[Oxonhutch]

I am a qualified shunter on my heritage railway and I think, looking at the speed he was travelling, that he never saw the train that he hit. Maybe he was looking for the shunter (who wasn't there) to stop him short, and bring him on. Another possibility is that he was actually running around his train and got routed back on to it by mistake.

[Red Squirrel]

Another video, this time with the real Flying the Scotsman: https://twitter.com/i/status/1708921216923205639