HOW COULD IT HAPPEN?
Experts say signal failure may have caused trains to collide in terrifying tunnel drama that injured 14
INVESTIGATORS are probing whether a signal failure caused a catastrophic collision between two passenger trains.
Miraculously, no one was killed when the trains collided as they entered the Fisherton tunnel near Salisbury at 6.45pm on Sunday, with 92 passengers caught up in the ‘terrifying’ ordeal.
A Great Western (GWR) service from Portsmouth to Bristol Temple Meads and a South Western (SWR) service from London Waterloo to Honiton were travelling in the same direction and collided as their tracks merged at the tunnel entrance.
Carriages on both trains partially derailed. The driver of one train was trapped in the wreckage and has ‘life-changing injuries’, police said yesterday.
Passengers said it was a miracle that no-one was killed, with some
‘Everything went black’
even calling their loved ones to say goodbye amid a fear that fire could take hold in the tilting carriages.
Thirteen of the 92 passengers were taken to hospital, with all except one discharged by yesterday. The driver was treated elsewhere.
Callum Stedman, 16, said passengers feared it was a terror attack and thought they would die as smoked filled the carriages of the train he was in.
He told The Sun: ‘We felt a jolt and everything went black. We all landed on each other and the train was at 45 degrees on its side. Lights started coming on from people’s phones and we started looking around – you see people with broken noses and black eyes and blood dripping.
‘It was just really scary. The smoke was the worst part because you thought it was going to catch fire and you would die.’
He added: ‘Outside the door there was a big fireball and there was smoke and then there was lots of smoke and lots of fuel and that’s when everyone started panicking. There were a lot of people crying and some people were kicking in the windows.’
Lucy Gregory told the BBC: ‘We were just pulling into Salisbury station and the train felt a bit juddery. I’d just stood up and put my coat on and my phone in my pocket when there was this massive impact and I fell across the table.
‘The table came off the wall and I ended up underneath another table. They smashed the windows and we got out of the window. It was really scary.’
It is understood the SWR train should have stopped, but instead ploughed into the other train. Possibilities being examined include a red signal malfunction, human error, brake failure or the wet weather causing the train to skid. There is a 20mph speed limit at that section of the line.
DCI Paul Langley, from British Transport Police, said: ‘This will no doubt have been an incredibly frightening experience for all those involved and our thoughts are with them and their families today. Specialist officers and detectives remain on scene in Salisbury and we are working closely alongside the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and the Office of Rail and Road to establish exactly how these two trains came to collide.’
Initial reports suggested fallen masonry or earth could have triggered one train to stop in the tunnel, with the second crashing into it, but Mr Langley said: ‘At this early stage there has been nothing to suggest the train struck an object or that there was any significant delay between the trains colliding and then one derailing.’
A No10 spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister’s thoughts remain with those who were affected by the incident.’
Travellers at Salisbury station yesterday were met with arrivals and departures screens showing that almost all trains were cancelled.
A joint Network Rail, GWR and SWR statement last night said passengers should expect chaos for the next few days. It said: ‘The relevant authorities are in the very early stages of their investigations, and it is likely the trains will need to remain on site for some time and the line will stay closed for at least a few days.’
An RAIB spokesman said: ‘We arrived on site last night to begin our investigation into what caused the collision. We now have a team of five inspectors on site as well as support staff who have already begun examining the train, tracks, infrastructure, as well as gathering electronic evidence.’