Crash at Kirkby

Investigations are under way into how and why a Merseyrail train ran through a buffer stop at Kirkby station and derailed.

The Office of Rail and Road and the British Transport Police are investigating how and why a Merseyrail train ran through a buffer stop at Kirkby station on March 13 and derailed, hitting an overbridge.

The train involved was the 1835 Liverpool Central-Kirkby, formed of Class 507 electric multiple units 507006/021.

After running through the buffer stops at the station, where Merseyrail services terminate at the southern end, the train hit bridge 57/57a. There were no injuries in the derailment.

Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service reported that crews were alerted at 1901 and arrived on site at 1905. Police closed the road above the railway bridge between Kirkby

Row and The Railway public house. The fire service left the scene at 1923, after which the site was handed over to the BTP.

Rail Operations Group 37800 was dispatched from Liverpool

Lime Street on March 16 to recover 507006, which had been leading the derailed service.

The same day, services on the Kirkby line as far as Rice Lane were still suspended for bridge and platform repair work. Replacement buses ran from Kirkby to

Fazakerley and Aintree for onward travel on the Merseyrail network.

Merseyrail told RAIL: “On Saturday March 13, the 1835 from Liverpool to Kirkby collided with the buffer stop at Kirkby station and derailed. Twelve passengers and two crew members were on board the train. All passengers and staff were checked by paramedics at the scene and no further medical treatment was required. The driver has been taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.

“A full investigation is now under way into the circumstances surrounding the incident and Kirkby station will remain closed until further notice.”

A BTP statement said: “British Transport Police are conducting an investigation into a train derailment at Kirkby station, Merseyside, on March 13, alongside the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

“Officers are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances of the incident while their enquiries continue. As is routine, the driver will be spoken to in due course and the train will be examined. Anyone with information can contact BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 405040 quoting reference 421 of 13/03/21.”

RAIB said on March 16 that it expected to publish further details of its preliminary investigation ‘in the coming days’.

Kirkby is an interchange station between Merseyrail and Northern trains running to Manchester Victoria via Wigan Wallgate. Buffer stops separate the diesel and electric operations along the single platform.