Grayrigg derailment
Encyclopedia
The Grayrigg derailment was a fatal railway accident
that occurred at approximately 20:15 GMT
on 23 February 2007, just to the south of Grayrigg
, Cumbria
, in North West England
. The initial conclusion of the accident investigation is that the derailment
was caused by a faulty set of points
(number 2B), controlled from Lambrigg ground frame. The scheduled inspection on 18 February 2007 had not taken place and the faults had gone undetected.
West Coast Main Line
express service from London Euston
to Glasgow Central was derailed by a defective set of points. The train was reported to have been travelling at up to 155 km/h (96.3 mph) when it was derailed. The train, consisting of unit 390 033 "City of Glasgow", which was constructed at Washwood Heath
, Birmingham
in 2002, had nine carriages and carried 105 passengers and four members of staff.
Passengers said that the carriages
of the train
began rocking and swaying very badly before the train crashed. The train was reported as being evacuated at around midnight. Emergency crews scanned the train with thermal imagery equipment
to make sure there was no one still inside. Up to 500 rescuers attended the scene, along with at least 12 ambulances, at least five fire engines
, three Royal Air Force
Sea King
search and rescue
helicopters, the International Rescue Corps
, three civilian mountain rescue teams plus RAF Leeming
Mountain Rescue Team, and one Merseyside Police
helicopter. The rescue operation was impeded by rain, darkness, and access problems caused by the narrow country lanes and muddy fields. Emergency vehicles experienced difficult conditions, needing to be towed by farm vehicles or tractors after becoming bogged down in mud.
Live BBC television coverage at 08:15 the following morning showed that although the whole train had been derailed, the rear carriages were standing nearly vertically on the sleepers and ballast. Standard class, the front five carriages, were the worst affected, and the rear four first class carriages were in better condition. The leading carriage, a driving motor coach, had headed down the embankment, and turned end-for-end as it fell. It was lying on its side at the foot of the embankment. The second carriage had jack-knifed against the first, breaking the coupling, and so had not followed it down the bank. This second carriage came to rest some distance further along the track, at a steep angle with one end in the air. The middle part of the train toppled sideways down the embankment. All the carriages remained structurally intact, with damage mainly confined to the crumple zone
s at their ends. Most injuries occurred in the front two carriages. The driver, who had stayed at the controls (but had little option to move once the accident had started and had no prior indication of derailment), was trapped for about an hour while specialist cutting equipment was used to free him from his cab. The other three members of the crew were in the rear first class section of the train.
Survivors were initially received at Grayrigg Primary School, which had been opened as a Survivor Reception Centre. Hospitals in the area, including some over the Scottish border in Dumfries and Galloway
, were put on standby, but not all received patients. According to BBC News, five passengers were admitted to Royal Preston Hospital in a critical condition. Police later released a statement revealing that one passenger, 84-year-old Margaret Masson from Glasgow
, had died after being admitted to hospital. Her funeral took place on 31 March 2007 at Craigton crematorium in Glasgow.
for worried relatives.
Within three hours of the crash the site had been sealed off with a five-mile cordon. The line was expected to be closed for two weeks, with Virgin Trains
saying that the line would not reopen to passenger services until 12 March 2007. The recovery operation was slowed by problems in getting heavy lifting gear to the site which required temporary roads to be constructed.
Sir Richard Branson
, Virgin Group
chairman, visited the scene of the crash at 11:00 the following morning to comment on the incident. During his news conference at the site he said that he regarded the driver, named as Iain Black from Dumbarton, as a hero, as he had remained in his seat to ensure the safety of passengers. Mr Black left hospital in late March and stated that "I've got to be in the cab to help the train and it never crossed my mind to leave."
Branson also later thanked local residents for their help at the scene of the crash, describing how he "was very impressed to hear how those kind people rallied round, opening their hearts and opening their doors to strangers in distress". Local farmers assisted the emergency services by transporting equipment using quad bike
s and four-wheel drive
vehicles. Sergeant Jo Fawcett of the Cumbria Constabulary
also offered thanks, saying that "There are so many people who have given up their own time to contribute in some way to dealing with the aftermath of the crash that it would be unfair to name them for fear of missing someone out."
Sir Richard Branson
also paid tribute to the Pendolino
train, comparing it to a 'tank'. He also added "If the train had been old stock then the number of injuries and the mortalities would have been horrendous".
As a result of the suspicion that faulty points were the cause of the crash, Network Rail
checked over 700 sets of similar points across the country as a "precautionary measure" saying later that "nothing of concern" had been found.
The operation to remove the train from the site began on the evening of 1 March 2007 with the first carriages moved from the embankment. This allowed passengers' property to be retrieved and gave investigators access to the train interior, which previously had not been possible because it would have been unsafe. The last of the carriages were removed on 4 March 2007 and the A685 road
was reopened.
allowing trains to cross from one running line to the other in emergencies or during track maintenance work. These points are used only occasionally, operated locally after a release is obtained from Carlisle power signal box
. They are normally locked in the main line "running" position. Early statements by Chief Superintendent Martyn Ripley of British Transport Police
suggested that investigations would focus on these points.
Investigations were launched by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch
and Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate
. RMT
rail union leader Bob Crow
said on BBC News that a points failure was responsible for the incident. Experts compared the cause to that of the Potters Bar rail crash
in 2002.
On 26 February, an interim report published by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch
outlined the current progress of the investigation. The report contained a single conclusion, that the immediate cause of the accident was the condition of the stretcher bar arrangement at points 2B at Lambrigg crossover, which resulted in the loss of gauge separation
of the point switch blades. The stretcher bars (components that hold the moving blades of the points the correct distance apart) had been found to be disconnected or missing. Of the three bars, one was not in position, another had nuts and bolts missing, and two were fractured. The points in question were facing the direction of travel of the train.
Following the RAIB report, Network Rail
released a statement in which its Chief Executive, John Armitt
, described how the organisation was "devastated to conclude that the condition of the set of points at Grayrigg
caused this terrible accident". He apologised "to all the people affected by the failure of the infrastructure".
The RAIB report noted that the Network Rail New Measurement Train
ran over the site on 21 February. This train uses laser
s and other instruments to make measurements of the track geometry and other features such as overhead line height and stagger, and the track gauge, twist and cant. It is not used to inspect points, but it does make a video record of the track which can be reviewed later. Commenting on the possibility that the train's video might have been used to detect the points damage and thereby prevent the accident, a Network Rail spokesman said: "The [inspection] train runs at speeds of up to 125 mph, or 95 mph on this stretch. There would be no point somebody watching it at that speed as they wouldn't be able to pick up any faults. It has to be run in super-slow motion to spot faults. The train runs for up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week. It would probably take someone most of the month to watch one day's worth of data. It's not what it's there for. It's a backwards reference tool."
Network Rail admitted it failed to carry out a scheduled visual track inspection in the area on the Sunday before the crash.
Bob Crow
of the RMT union
said: "This is shutting the stable door after the horse has well and truly bolted. We argued this train should not replace visual inspections. Inspectors who walk the track are the eyes and ears of the railway. They don't just check the safety of the track, they look at the area surrounding it, check for signs of potential trouble such as gaps in the fence where vandals could get in." Labour Party
Member of Parliament
John McDonnell
added: "The fact that Network Rail apparently had footage of a missing stretcher bar days before the fatal crash is very worrying."
As part of the investigation by the British Transport Police
, three Network Rail employees were arrested and bailed, one in July 2007 and two in November 2007 All three were due to answer bail in March 2008 but this was extended until the end of June pending further inquiries. On 9 February 2009, the British Transport Police confirmed that none of the three Network Rail employees arrested in connection with the derailment will be charged following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service
.
Sleeper train, the Caledonian Sleeper
, was curtailed and passengers transferred to overnight coaches.
The line closure that followed the initial service suspension saw most Virgin services terminate at Preston
or Lancaster
from the south, with buses to Carlisle
and all stations along the route. The only exception was an early-morning and late-evening through service from Carlisle to London and return. This was diesel-hauled via Blackburn and Settle. There were also several non-stop trains from Preston to London Euston. Local services all terminated short but many were able to make their journeys as their destinations were off branches. The Caledonian Sleeper
was diverted via the East Coast Main Line
, along with freight services, although some were diesel-hauled via Blackburn and Settle.
Trains began running on the line again on 12 March subject to a speed restriction of 80 km/h (49.7 mph) at the crash site. The first train was the 05:10 Manchester
to Glasgow
.
to London Euston
, whose crew was responsible for the incident, was Class 8P
No. 46242 City of Glasgow.
In the area near the accident, south of Tebay
in Cumbria
, on 15 February 2004 another fatal incident had occurred, the Tebay rail accident
, when four rail workers were killed by a runaway track maintenance trailer. Also close by was a collision on the Lambrigg Crossing on 18 May 1947.
Train wreck
A train wreck or train crash is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an accident, such as when a train wheel jumps off a track in a derailment; or when a boiler...
that occurred at approximately 20:15 GMT
Greenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...
on 23 February 2007, just to the south of Grayrigg
Grayrigg
Grayrigg is a small village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies on undulated and partly mountainous land, north east of Kendal, on the north side of the West Coast Main Line, and west side of the M6 motorway....
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, in North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
. The initial conclusion of the accident investigation is that the derailment
Derailment
A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....
was caused by a faulty set of points
Railroad switch
A railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....
(number 2B), controlled from Lambrigg ground frame. The scheduled inspection on 18 February 2007 had not taken place and the faults had gone undetected.
Incident
Train 1S83, the 17:15 Virgin West Coast PendolinoBritish Rail Class 390
The Class 390 Pendolino is a type of train used in Great Britain. They are electric multiple units using Fiat's tilting train pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line , with...
West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
express service from London Euston
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
to Glasgow Central was derailed by a defective set of points. The train was reported to have been travelling at up to 155 km/h (96.3 mph) when it was derailed. The train, consisting of unit 390 033 "City of Glasgow", which was constructed at Washwood Heath
Washwood Heath
Washwood Heath is a ward in Birmingham, within the formal district of Hodge Hill, roughly two miles north-east of Birmingham city centre, England...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in 2002, had nine carriages and carried 105 passengers and four members of staff.
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
of the train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
began rocking and swaying very badly before the train crashed. The train was reported as being evacuated at around midnight. Emergency crews scanned the train with thermal imagery equipment
Thermographic camera
A thermographic camera or infrared camera is a device that forms an image using infrared radiation, similar to a common camera that forms an image using visible light...
to make sure there was no one still inside. Up to 500 rescuers attended the scene, along with at least 12 ambulances, at least five fire engines
Fire apparatus
A fire apparatus, fire engine, fire truck, or fire appliance is a vehicle designed to assist in fighting fires by transporting firefighters to the scene and providing them with access to the fire, along with water or other equipment...
, three Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Sea King
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
search and rescue
RAF Search and Rescue Force
The RAF Search and Rescue Force is the Royal Air Force organisation which provides around-the-clock aeronautical search and rescue cover in the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands.-History:...
helicopters, the International Rescue Corps
International Rescue Corps
The International Rescue Corps is a volunteer organization involved in disaster rescue, based in Grangemouth, Scotland.It is an independent United Nations registered disaster rescue service with an accredited UK National Open College Network qualification in Urban Search and Rescue...
, three civilian mountain rescue teams plus RAF Leeming
RAF Leeming
RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force station in North Yorkshire, UK.HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is the Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Leeming. The Station Commander is Group Captain Anthony Innes....
Mountain Rescue Team, and one Merseyside Police
Merseyside Police
Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The force area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million...
helicopter. The rescue operation was impeded by rain, darkness, and access problems caused by the narrow country lanes and muddy fields. Emergency vehicles experienced difficult conditions, needing to be towed by farm vehicles or tractors after becoming bogged down in mud.
Live BBC television coverage at 08:15 the following morning showed that although the whole train had been derailed, the rear carriages were standing nearly vertically on the sleepers and ballast. Standard class, the front five carriages, were the worst affected, and the rear four first class carriages were in better condition. The leading carriage, a driving motor coach, had headed down the embankment, and turned end-for-end as it fell. It was lying on its side at the foot of the embankment. The second carriage had jack-knifed against the first, breaking the coupling, and so had not followed it down the bank. This second carriage came to rest some distance further along the track, at a steep angle with one end in the air. The middle part of the train toppled sideways down the embankment. All the carriages remained structurally intact, with damage mainly confined to the crumple zone
Crumple zone
The crumple zone is a structural feature mainly of automobiles. Crumple zones have also been incorporated into railcars in recent years.They are designed to absorb the energy from the impact during an accident by controlled deformation. This energy is much higher than is commonly recognized...
s at their ends. Most injuries occurred in the front two carriages. The driver, who had stayed at the controls (but had little option to move once the accident had started and had no prior indication of derailment), was trapped for about an hour while specialist cutting equipment was used to free him from his cab. The other three members of the crew were in the rear first class section of the train.
Survivors were initially received at Grayrigg Primary School, which had been opened as a Survivor Reception Centre. Hospitals in the area, including some over the Scottish border in Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...
, were put on standby, but not all received patients. According to BBC News, five passengers were admitted to Royal Preston Hospital in a critical condition. Police later released a statement revealing that one passenger, 84-year-old Margaret Masson from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, had died after being admitted to hospital. Her funeral took place on 31 March 2007 at Craigton crematorium in Glasgow.
Aftermath
A family liaison centre was set up in Glasgow Central StationGlasgow Central station
Glasgow Central is the larger of the two present main-line railway terminals in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. The station was opened by the Caledonian Railway on 31 July 1879 and is currently managed by Network Rail...
for worried relatives.
Within three hours of the crash the site had been sealed off with a five-mile cordon. The line was expected to be closed for two weeks, with Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
saying that the line would not reopen to passenger services until 12 March 2007. The recovery operation was slowed by problems in getting heavy lifting gear to the site which required temporary roads to be constructed.
Sir Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
, Virgin Group
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...
chairman, visited the scene of the crash at 11:00 the following morning to comment on the incident. During his news conference at the site he said that he regarded the driver, named as Iain Black from Dumbarton, as a hero, as he had remained in his seat to ensure the safety of passengers. Mr Black left hospital in late March and stated that "I've got to be in the cab to help the train and it never crossed my mind to leave."
Branson also later thanked local residents for their help at the scene of the crash, describing how he "was very impressed to hear how those kind people rallied round, opening their hearts and opening their doors to strangers in distress". Local farmers assisted the emergency services by transporting equipment using quad bike
Quad bike
A Quad bike is recognised by UK law as a vehicle with four wheels and a mass of less than 550 kg.To drive a quad bike on a public road, in the UK, requires a B1 licence as well as tax, insurance and registration.-19th century:...
s and four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, 4WD, or 4×4 is a four-wheeled vehicle with a drivetrain that allows all four wheels to receive torque from the engine simultaneously...
vehicles. Sergeant Jo Fawcett of the Cumbria Constabulary
Cumbria Constabulary
Cumbria Constabulary is the territorial police force in England covering Cumbria. It is currently the fifth-largest force in England and Wales in terms of geographic area but one of the smallest in terms of officer numbers. Given the force area's size and population of just under 500,000, it is...
also offered thanks, saying that "There are so many people who have given up their own time to contribute in some way to dealing with the aftermath of the crash that it would be unfair to name them for fear of missing someone out."
Sir Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
also paid tribute to the Pendolino
British Rail Class 390
The Class 390 Pendolino is a type of train used in Great Britain. They are electric multiple units using Fiat's tilting train pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line , with...
train, comparing it to a 'tank'. He also added "If the train had been old stock then the number of injuries and the mortalities would have been horrendous".
As a result of the suspicion that faulty points were the cause of the crash, Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
checked over 700 sets of similar points across the country as a "precautionary measure" saying later that "nothing of concern" had been found.
The operation to remove the train from the site began on the evening of 1 March 2007 with the first carriages moved from the embankment. This allowed passengers' property to be retrieved and gave investigators access to the train interior, which previously had not been possible because it would have been unsafe. The last of the carriages were removed on 4 March 2007 and the A685 road
A685 road
The A685 is a road in Cumbria, England, that runs 28 miles from Kendal to Brough.-Route:The A685 begins in Kendal town centre off the A6. It heads in a north-easterly direction to the village of Tebay and junction 38 of the M6 motorway. From the M6 the A685 has primary status as it heads in an...
was reopened.
Cause
Lambrigg ground frame, 660 yards (603.5 m) south-west of the crash site, controls two crossovers, each one comprising two sets of pointsRailroad switch
A railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....
allowing trains to cross from one running line to the other in emergencies or during track maintenance work. These points are used only occasionally, operated locally after a release is obtained from Carlisle power signal box
Signal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
. They are normally locked in the main line "running" position. Early statements by Chief Superintendent Martyn Ripley of British Transport Police
British Transport Police
The British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
suggested that investigations would focus on these points.
Investigations were launched by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch
Rail Accident Investigation Branch
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is a government agency that became operational on 17 October 2005. Its primary role is the investigation of rail accidents in the United Kingdom and the Channel Tunnel in order to find a cause, not to lay blame. The agency has operational centres in The...
and Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate
HM Railway Inspectorate
Established in 1840, HM Railway Inspectorate was the British organisation responsible for overseeing safety on Britain's railways and tramways...
. RMT
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers is a trade union in the United Kingdom which unionises transport workers. It has more than 80,000 members, and its current general secretary is Bob Crow...
rail union leader Bob Crow
Bob Crow
Robert Crow , who is better known as Bob Crow, is a British trade union leader, the General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and a member of the General Council of the TUC...
said on BBC News that a points failure was responsible for the incident. Experts compared the cause to that of the Potters Bar rail crash
Potters Bar rail crash
There have been at least three railway accidents in Potters Bar, a town in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, just north of Greater London. One occurred in 1898, one in 1946 and the last in 2002.-1898:...
in 2002.
On 26 February, an interim report published by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch
Rail Accident Investigation Branch
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is a government agency that became operational on 17 October 2005. Its primary role is the investigation of rail accidents in the United Kingdom and the Channel Tunnel in order to find a cause, not to lay blame. The agency has operational centres in The...
outlined the current progress of the investigation. The report contained a single conclusion, that the immediate cause of the accident was the condition of the stretcher bar arrangement at points 2B at Lambrigg crossover, which resulted in the loss of gauge separation
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
of the point switch blades. The stretcher bars (components that hold the moving blades of the points the correct distance apart) had been found to be disconnected or missing. Of the three bars, one was not in position, another had nuts and bolts missing, and two were fractured. The points in question were facing the direction of travel of the train.
Following the RAIB report, Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
released a statement in which its Chief Executive, John Armitt
John Armitt
John Alexander Armitt, CBE FREng , is the Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body charged with building the venues, facilities and infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic Games. The appointment commenced on 1 September 2007.He is also Chairman of the Engineering and Physical Sciences...
, described how the organisation was "devastated to conclude that the condition of the set of points at Grayrigg
Grayrigg
Grayrigg is a small village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It lies on undulated and partly mountainous land, north east of Kendal, on the north side of the West Coast Main Line, and west side of the M6 motorway....
caused this terrible accident". He apologised "to all the people affected by the failure of the infrastructure".
The RAIB report noted that the Network Rail New Measurement Train
Network Rail New Measurement Train
The Network Rail New Measurement Train is a specialised train which operates in the United Kingdom to assess the condition of track so that engineers can determine where to work. It is a specially converted High Speed Train, consisting of two Class 43 power cars and rake of Mark 3 coaches...
ran over the site on 21 February. This train uses laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s and other instruments to make measurements of the track geometry and other features such as overhead line height and stagger, and the track gauge, twist and cant. It is not used to inspect points, but it does make a video record of the track which can be reviewed later. Commenting on the possibility that the train's video might have been used to detect the points damage and thereby prevent the accident, a Network Rail spokesman said: "The [inspection] train runs at speeds of up to 125 mph, or 95 mph on this stretch. There would be no point somebody watching it at that speed as they wouldn't be able to pick up any faults. It has to be run in super-slow motion to spot faults. The train runs for up to 18 hours a day, seven days a week. It would probably take someone most of the month to watch one day's worth of data. It's not what it's there for. It's a backwards reference tool."
Network Rail admitted it failed to carry out a scheduled visual track inspection in the area on the Sunday before the crash.
Bob Crow
Bob Crow
Robert Crow , who is better known as Bob Crow, is a British trade union leader, the General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and a member of the General Council of the TUC...
of the RMT union
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers is a trade union in the United Kingdom which unionises transport workers. It has more than 80,000 members, and its current general secretary is Bob Crow...
said: "This is shutting the stable door after the horse has well and truly bolted. We argued this train should not replace visual inspections. Inspectors who walk the track are the eyes and ears of the railway. They don't just check the safety of the track, they look at the area surrounding it, check for signs of potential trouble such as gaps in the fence where vandals could get in." Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
John McDonnell
John McDonnell (politician)
John Martin McDonnell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Hayes and Harlington since 1997; he serves as Chair of the Socialist Campaign Group, the Labour Representation Committee, and the "Public Services Not Private Profit Group"...
added: "The fact that Network Rail apparently had footage of a missing stretcher bar days before the fatal crash is very worrying."
As part of the investigation by the British Transport Police
British Transport Police
The British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
, three Network Rail employees were arrested and bailed, one in July 2007 and two in November 2007 All three were due to answer bail in March 2008 but this was extended until the end of June pending further inquiries. On 9 February 2009, the British Transport Police confirmed that none of the three Network Rail employees arrested in connection with the derailment will be charged following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
.
Subsequent service disruption
Immediately after the accident, all services were suspended and the First ScotRailFirst ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...
Sleeper train, the Caledonian Sleeper
Caledonian Sleeper
The Caledonian Sleeper is a sleeper train service operated by First ScotRail and one of only two remaining sleeper services running on the railways of Great Britain, the other being the Night Riviera....
, was curtailed and passengers transferred to overnight coaches.
The line closure that followed the initial service suspension saw most Virgin services terminate at Preston
Preston railway station
Preston railway station serves the city of Preston in Lancashire, England and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line.It is served by Northern Rail, Virgin Trains, and TransPennine Express services, plus First ScotRail overnight sleeper services between London and Scotland.-Station layout...
or Lancaster
Lancaster railway station
Lancaster railway station is a railway station that serves the city of Lancaster in Lancashire, England...
from the south, with buses to Carlisle
Carlisle railway station
Carlisle railway station, also known as Carlisle Citadel station, is a railway station whichserves the Cumbrian City of Carlisle, England, and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line, lying south of Glasgow Central, and north of London Euston...
and all stations along the route. The only exception was an early-morning and late-evening through service from Carlisle to London and return. This was diesel-hauled via Blackburn and Settle. There were also several non-stop trains from Preston to London Euston. Local services all terminated short but many were able to make their journeys as their destinations were off branches. The Caledonian Sleeper
Caledonian Sleeper
The Caledonian Sleeper is a sleeper train service operated by First ScotRail and one of only two remaining sleeper services running on the railways of Great Britain, the other being the Night Riviera....
was diverted via the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
, along with freight services, although some were diesel-hauled via Blackburn and Settle.
Trains began running on the line again on 12 March subject to a speed restriction of 80 km/h (49.7 mph) at the crash site. The first train was the 05:10 Manchester
Manchester Piccadilly station
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
to Glasgow
Glasgow Central station
Glasgow Central is the larger of the two present main-line railway terminals in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. The station was opened by the Caledonian Railway on 31 July 1879 and is currently managed by Network Rail...
.
Prior incidents
The Grayrigg derailment was not the first British railway accident to feature a train or locomotive named "City of Glasgow" on the West Coast Mainline. In the Harrow and Wealdstone railway accident on 8 October 1952, the locomotive of the sleeper train from PerthPerth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
to London Euston
Euston station
Euston station may refer to one of the following stations in London, United Kingdom:*Euston railway station, a major terminus for trains to the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and part of Scotland...
, whose crew was responsible for the incident, was Class 8P
LMS Princess Coronation Class
The London Midland and Scottish Railway Coronation Class is a class of express passenger steam locomotives designed by William Stanier. They were an enlarged version of the LMS Princess Royal Class. Several examples were originally built as streamlined, though this was later removed...
No. 46242 City of Glasgow.
In the area near the accident, south of Tebay
Tebay
Tebay is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England, within the traditional borders of Westmorland. It lies in the upper Lune Valley, at the head of the Lune Gorge. The parish of Tebay had a population of 728 recorded in the 2001 census,...
in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, on 15 February 2004 another fatal incident had occurred, the Tebay rail accident
Tebay rail accident
The Tebay rail accident occurred when four railway workers working on the West Coast Main Line were killed by a runaway wagon near Tebay, Cumbria, England in the early hours of 15 February 2004.-Incident:...
, when four rail workers were killed by a runaway track maintenance trailer. Also close by was a collision on the Lambrigg Crossing on 18 May 1947.
See also
- List of rail accidents in the United Kingdom
- List of rail accidents (2000–present)