SWT service struck by lorry

[whole diary]

[James Vertigan]

Several people injured after a cement mixer fell from a bridge in Oxshott earlier. Service suspended Surbiton-Effingham Junction via Oxshott with diversions via Wokingham/Leatherhead.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11702343

Usually when they say "a vehicle has struck a train" or a bridge, they don't mean from above...

From the pictures currently on the news channels, it looks to have been a lucky escape as the most damage seems to be in the vestibule area of the six-carriage train.

[Ollie]

Diversions via Wokingham?  Do you mean Woking?

Don't know how the lorry came off, if the aerial shot of the bridge on the bbc is anything to go by it's a straight road!

[kazbear]

From SWT^▸ (South West Trains) webb site

An incident has occured involving a train and a lorry in the Oxshott area.

Because of this, the following alterations will apply until at least the end of service on Saturday 6 November:

^Buses are replacing trains between Surbiton and Effingham Junction via Oxshott

^Trains are being diverted around the disruption via Woking or Leatherhead
 

Therefore the following stations have no train service:

^Hinchley Wood
^Claygate
^Oxshott
^Cobham & Stoke D'Abernon

[James Vertigan]

Diversions via Wokingham?  Do you mean Woking?

Evidently, yes! Don't know where Wokingham came from - I must need glasses! Or I must learn not to read things in a rush!

[Mookiemoo]

Is there a whole lot of effingham and a great deal of blindingham?

[Chris from Nailsea]

Updated video report, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Concrete mixer rail crash: Police probe begins

Police are begining to piece together what happened moments before a concrete mixer fell from a bridge onto a train in Oxshott in Surrey.

Five people were injured when the lorry fell onto the train. It took several hours to release the lorry driver from his cab.

The BBC's Adrian Harms said the people taken to hospital were not as seriously hurt as first thought.

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Concrete mixer lorry to be lifted from train crash site

Police and recovery teams are preparing to remove the wreckage of the concrete mixer which fell from a bridge onto a train at Oxshott, Surrey.

The 26-tonne vehicle crashed through a brick wall onto the Guildford to Waterloo train which was passing below. Five of the 40 passengers travelling on the eight carriage train were injured, two seriously.

The 38-year-old lorry driver was freed from the wreckage and taken to hospital. "His injuries don't appear to be as serious as first thought and are not life-threatening," a hospital spokesman said.

The incident happened at about 1530 GMT on Friday on Warren Road, a short distance from Oxshott railway station.

The vehicle struck the third carriage from the back of the train punching a large hole in the metal roof.

The Conservative MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) for Esher and Walton, Dominic Raab, has been at the scene of the incident. Mr Raab said: "We will have all the inquiries and forensics conducted in the days and hours ahead, both by the police and also by the rail accident investigation branch. But we will have to wait for the outcome as to why this happened and to make sure it doesn't happen again."

It may be Monday before rail services in the area can return to normal.

[eightf48544]

Sympathy to those injured in this unfortunate incident.

It's good to see such restrained reporting.

Sensible comments by the MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Dominic Raab.

There also appear to be no hysteria about Rail Safety getting worse etc.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Agreed, eightf48544.

Further restrained reporting, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Rail services hit by concrete mixer bridge plunge

Rail services disrupted when a concrete mixer hit a bridge wall and plunged on to a passing train carriage are not expected to resume until Monday.

South West Trains are expecting the disruption to affect rush-hour travellers on Monday.

British Transport Police and Surrey Police investigating the cause of the crash remained at the scene throughout Saturday.

A Surrey Police spokesman said the incident "will have an impact not only on local traffic around Oxshott and surrounding areas, which will need to find alternative routes, but the congestion is anticipated to impact on the M25."

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Rail services resume after concrete mixer bridge crash

Rail services disrupted when a concrete mixer hit a bridge wall and plunged on to a passing train carriage are returning to normal.

Several people were injured when the 26-tonne lorry hit the bridge at Oxshott in Surrey and landed on the passing commuter train.

South West Trains said extensive repairs to the line have now been completed.

Two people are still in hospital following the incident on Friday.

Three people are thought to be badly injured including the lorry driver.

Wreckage from the crash was moved from the site on Saturday and Sunday.

Up to 40 people were on the train which was heading towards London Waterloo when the accident happened on Warren Road at about 1530 GMT on Friday.

The concrete mixer struck the third carriage from the back of the train punching a large hole in the metal roof.

The 38-year-old lorry driver was freed from the wreckage and is said to be in a stable condition at St George's Hospital, Tooting, south London.

British Transport Police and Surrey Police investigating the cause of the crash remained at the scene throughout Saturday.

Managing director of South West Trains Andy Pitt said: "We would like to thank British Transport Police, the site teams and engineers from Network Rail for their support and hard work in clearing the track and making the line safe to re-open."

He said staff would be available at the stations affected by the recent disruption "to give advice and assistance".

The bridge was re-opened to pedestrians and traffic on a one-way basis controlled by temporary traffic lights on Sunday afternoon. Road closures on the other sections of the A244 were also lifted.

Supt Graham Head said: "A great deal of work has been completed by all the agencies involved working through the weekend, including overnight, which has enabled the road to be re-opened."

But he added that motorists should still seek an alternative route if possible or allow more time for their journeys.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the RAIB^▸ (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) website:

Investigation into an accident involving a heavy goods vehicle and a train near Oxshott, Surrey, on 5 November 2010

The RAIB is carrying out an investigation into the incursion of a heavy goods vehicle through the parapet of a bridge over a railway line in Surrey, causing the vehicle to fall onto a passing train.

The accident occurred at about 15:31 hrs on the bridge that carries the A244 over a two track railway near Oxshott station.  A three-axle concrete mixer lorry was travelling in the southbound direction over the bridge when it collided with, and demolished a section of, the east side parapet before falling 10.5 metres onto the track below.  The lorry was loaded with concrete and weighed approximately 24 tonnes.  As the vehicle fell onto the track it struck a train that was passing underneath, the 15:05 hrs service from Guildford to London Waterloo (train 2G46).  One passenger on the train and the driver of the lorry sustained serious injuries.  Five other passengers on the train suffered minor injuries.

The train was formed of two four-car class 455 electric multiple units.  Severe crush damage was caused to the leading end of the 6th coach.  In addition one side of the 7th and 8th coaches suffered severe damage caused by heavy contact with parts of the lorry.  The last bogie on the train (8th coach) became derailed.  The train came to a stand with the rear coach approximately 60 metres from the point of impact with the lorry.

All 26 passengers were detrained; the injured were taken to hospital, and the remainder taken to a reception centre set up by the local authority, Elmbridge Borough Council.

The RAIB^s investigation will identify the sequence of events before, during and after the accident.  RAIB inspectors will liaise with Surrey Police^s road traffic accident investigators in order to understand the events on the highway that led to the collision with the parapet.  The scope of the investigation will also encompass the steps that were taken to manage the risk of vehicle incursion at this location and at similar bridges elsewhere on Britain^s railway network.

The RAIB^s investigation is independent of any investigations by the Police and the safety authority.

The RAIB will publish a report, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of its investigation. This report will be available on the RAIB website.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the yourlocalguardian website:

Oxshott train crash driver gets five points on licence

The driver of a cement mixer that crashed off a bridge on to a passing train has been fined ^100 and had five penalty points added to his licence.

Petru Achim, 35, of Hook in Hampshire, was driving the cement mixer that crashed through a bridge wall on Warren Lane in Oxshott, at 3.30pm on November 15, last year, plunging 35 feet down on to a passing train.

Remarkably, nobody was killed in the crash, although the vehicle hit the back two carriages of the train which had just left Oxshott station.

Achim, a Romanian national, and another passenger were taken to hospital suffering from minor injuries, while other passengers needed treatment for minor injuries.

During sentencing at Staines Magistrates' Court on Thursday, June 2, Achim, who pleaded guilty via post last month, was told he would also have to pay a ^15 victim surcharge and ^43 in costs for driving without due care and attention.

The Elmbridge Guardian understands Achim no longer works for Wimbledon-based haulage company Kingman Services, who he was working for when the crash happened.

He had been transporting material being used for the ^4.5m redevelopment of Epsom station.

A spokesman for Kingman Services refused to comment on the incident.

Achim was also fined a further ^100, after pleading guilty to failing to ensure the proper use of recording equipment on the day the crash occurred.

The crash caused traffic chaos during the Friday evening rush hour, with traffic jams leading back to the M25 while emergency services dealt with the wreckage.

An investigation into the crash by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch is still ongoing.

Window-fitter George Palmer, 16, was driving in his van behind the cement mixer with his friend, when the vehicle careered off the bridge on to the train. He said: ^We followed him off the motorway. He scraped the brick wall and tried to correct it, but he didn't want to go into the on-coming traffic. He clipped the wall, then fell down and the weight of the cement mixer pulled the vehicle down. It was the back end which went first. It was like something out of a movie, I couldn^t believe it. We ran out of the van and debris was everywhere. We could see him hanging out of the cabine, but we didn^t want to look.^

Note that the incident actually occurred on 5 November 2010, not 15 November, as reported here. CfN. 

[bobm]

That's not the only mistake in the article.  One hopes the window fitter following the cement mixer wasn't really 16!

Ironic the cement was being transported for another job on the railway.

[inspector_blakey]

Wow. ^100 and five points. That'll send a strong message, won't it?

[ChrisB]

The fine isn't big enough....