Stafford rail crash (1990)
Encyclopedia
The train crash at Stafford
on 4 August 1990, resulted in the death of a train driver and injuries to 36 people.
The 23:36 empty coaching stock train from Stoke-on-Trent
to Birmingham
Soho Depot ran into the rear of the 22:18 express passenger train from Manchester Piccadilly to Penzance
, which was standing in platform 4 at Stafford station
. The empty train had been given permission to pass a signal
at 'danger' and draw up behind the express in order to clear the way for another train.
The driver of the empty train, who was the only fatality, was considered not to have kept a good lookout. This was possibly compounded by excessive working hours and by the alcohol
that was subsequently found in his bloodstream.
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
on 4 August 1990, resulted in the death of a train driver and injuries to 36 people.
The 23:36 empty coaching stock train from Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
to 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...
Soho Depot ran into the rear of the 22:18 express passenger train from Manchester Piccadilly to Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
, which was standing in platform 4 at Stafford station
Stafford railway station
Stafford railway station is an important main line interchange station in the United Kingdom. It serves the county town of Stafford.The present station built in 1962 is a good example of the Brutalist style of architecture - the beauty of the building was perceived to be its very functionality and...
. The empty train had been given permission to pass a signal
Railway signal
A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly...
at 'danger' and draw up behind the express in order to clear the way for another train.
The driver of the empty train, who was the only fatality, was considered not to have kept a good lookout. This was possibly compounded by excessive working hours and by the alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
that was subsequently found in his bloodstream.