Watford rail crash
Encyclopedia
In the early evening of Thursday 8 August 1996, a Class 321 passenger train operated by North London Railways Ltd
travelling from London Euston on the West Coast Main Line
Down Slow line at around 110 km/h (68 mph) passed a signal at danger
. Having applied the brakes it eventually stopped 203 m (222 yards) past the signal and was traversing the junction between the Down Slow line and the Up Fast line. An empty Class 321 coaching stock train approaching at roughly 80 km/h (50 mph) collided with the stationary passenger train approximately 700 m south of Watford Junction whilst progressing across the connections from the Up Slow line to the Up Fast line.
One person was killed and 69 were injured, including four members of the train's crew. The person who was killed was Ruth Holland, book review editor of the British Medical Journal
.
by the Crown Prosecution Service
on 10 January 1997, following an investigation by the British Transport Police
. On 11 March 1998, the driver was found Not Guilty at Luton
Crown Court
.
In its report, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
advised that there was insufficient evidence to justify legal proceedings against the other involved parties, namely Railtrack
and Silverlink
.
and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)
jointly published its Report into the railway accident at Watford South Junction on 8 August 1996 on 29 April 1998, a summary version was published on the internet on 21 May 1998.
and the ORR
concluded in its incident report that there were a number of mitigating factors that contributed to the incident.
Silverlink
Silverlink Train Services Ltd was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operated routes in North London and from London to Northampton...
travelling from London Euston on the 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...
Down Slow line at around 110 km/h (68 mph) passed a signal at danger
Signal passed at danger
A Signal passed at danger , in British railway terminology, occurs when a train passes a stop signal without authority to do so. It is a term primarily used within the British Railway Industry, although it can be applied worldwide.-Categories of SPAD:...
. Having applied the brakes it eventually stopped 203 m (222 yards) past the signal and was traversing the junction between the Down Slow line and the Up Fast line. An empty Class 321 coaching stock train approaching at roughly 80 km/h (50 mph) collided with the stationary passenger train approximately 700 m south of Watford Junction whilst progressing across the connections from the Up Slow line to the Up Fast line.
One person was killed and 69 were injured, including four members of the train's crew. The person who was killed was Ruth Holland, book review editor of the British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
.
Criminal Proceedings
As a result of this accident, the train driver was charged with manslaughterManslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
by 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...
on 10 January 1997, following an 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...
. On 11 March 1998, the driver was found Not Guilty at Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
.
In its report, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in England and Wales and Scotland...
advised that there was insufficient evidence to justify legal proceedings against the other involved parties, namely Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
and Silverlink
Silverlink
Silverlink Train Services Ltd was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operated routes in North London and from London to Northampton...
.
Incident Report
Following delays caused by the criminal proceedings against the driver, the HSEHealth and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in England and Wales and Scotland...
and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)
Office of Rail Regulation
The Office of Rail Regulation is a statutory board which is the combined economic and safety regulatory authority for Great Britain's railway network. It was established on 5 July 2004 by the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, replacing the Rail Regulator...
jointly published its Report into the railway accident at Watford South Junction on 8 August 1996 on 29 April 1998, a summary version was published on the internet on 21 May 1998.
Contributing Factors
The HSEHealth and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in England and Wales and Scotland...
and the ORR
Office of Rail Regulation
The Office of Rail Regulation is a statutory board which is the combined economic and safety regulatory authority for Great Britain's railway network. It was established on 5 July 2004 by the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, replacing the Rail Regulator...
concluded in its incident report that there were a number of mitigating factors that contributed to the incident.
- The collision would have been avoided if the Automatic Train ProtectionAutomatic Train ProtectionAutomatic Train Protection in Great Britain refers to either of two implementations of a train protection system installed in some trains in order to help prevent collisions through a driver's failure to observe a signal or speed restriction...
(ATP) system had been fitted to the train and track. - The inappropriate positioning of a speed restriction sign as a result of imprecise wording in the Railway Signalling Standard which gave confusing information to the driver of the passenger train.
- The signal passed at danger had a shorter than normal safety margin known as an 'overlap' intended to reduce risks from small misjudgements by train drivers or increased braking distances. (e.g. As a result of wet leaves on the line)
See also
- List of British rail accidents
- Southall rail crashSouthall rail crashThe Southall rail crash was an accident on the British railway system that occurred on 19 September 1997, on the Great Western Main Line at Southall, west London. Seven people were killed and 139 injured...
- SPAD accident in September 1997.
Further reading
- 'Railway Accident at Watford' ISBN 0-7176-1510-3