U.K. High-Speed Train Derails, Killing 1

Investigators Inspect Wreckage Of Virgin Train In Northwestern England

(CBS/AP)  Investigators on Saturday inspected the wreckage of a high-speed commuter train that derailed in remote countryside in northern England, sending carriages hurtling down an embankment and killing one passenger.

Five other passengers were seriously injured, and investigators said they were surprised there weren't more casualties.

The Glasgow-bound Virgin train, which departed London at 5:15pm carrying 120 passengers and staff, crashed Friday night near Lambrigg in Cumbria, 270 miles northwest of London, in driving rain. It was traveling 95-miles-an-hour when it derailed.

Rescue workers searched along muddy country lanes to locate the scene, finding local farmers had arrived ahead of them to help evacuate the injured. Royal Air Force helicopters were scrambled to transport the wounded to hospitals, police said.

"We are amazed that we didn't have more fatalities on the scene — we have been very fortunate. It is little short of a miracle," said Chief Superintendent Martyn Ripley, of the British Transport Police.

He said an 80-year-old woman had died in hospital as a result of her injuries; nearly 80 others were hurt.

Officers were investigating whether the train derailed because of a failure of railroad switches that are used to adjust track settings and alter a train's route, he said. If left in the wrong position, the components can throw carriages off the track.

Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson visited the scene Saturday and said he had returned to Britain from a family holiday after being informed of the accident.

Branson said the train — a new model introduced in 2003 — was "built like a tank" and confirmed the carriages and most windows had remained intact. "If it had been any of the old trains the injuries and fatalities would have been horrendous."

He said driver Ian Black, a former police officer, had attempted to keep the train on the railroad tracks, refusing to abandon his cabin and seek shelter with passengers.

Black, who suffered serious neck injuries, had chosen not to "desert the bridge and deserves a lot of praise for that," Branson said. "He is a definitely a hero. In the sober light of day we will have to see if he can be recognized as such," he said.

Ian Garnett, watch manager with Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, said rescuers had struggled to find the scene Friday.

Morning light revealed the front two carriages of the Pendolino train, which has a special tilting mechanism that enables it to reach speeds of 125 mph, had been hurled off the track and down a verge. Seven other carriages snaked along a banking, with one twisted onto its side.

Twelve ambulances and five fire trucks responded to the scene, and the Royal Air Force dispatched three Sea King helicopters and two mountain rescue teams.

Vanessa Robinson, 25, from Perth, Australia, said she was thrown from the train through a smashed window when her carriage rolled upside down.

"I heard a sudden thump. I thought the train was going to catch fire and I thought I was going to die. I felt a bump which threw me against the wall of the carriage," said Robinson, who was traveling to Glasgow on holiday. She suffered cuts and bruises but was not hospitalized.

The area where the train derailed Friday has seen two accidents on its railway lines in the past four years.

One of the most serious rail accidents in Britain occurred in October 1999, when a train heading out of London's Paddington station went through a red light and crashed into an incoming high-speed train, killing 31 people. Around 400 people were injured in the accident, which was Britain's worst rail crash in 25 years.

Friends or relatives seeking information about anybody traveling on the train are directed to call 0800 056 0146 (inside the U.K) or 00 44 20 7158 0198 (from overseas).

[formrusmcsgt]

Are there any reports as of yet to the cause?
Posted by gbroker at 04:04 PM : Feb 24, 2007

CNN reports:

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A defective track caused a high-speed train accident in northwest England which killed an elderly woman and seriously injured five other people, according to the boss of the train company involved.

"I've been told the line was defective," Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Group, told reporters. "I've been told that it was the points that failed."
----------------

Blaming the track seems absolutely ludicrous to me. The track itself can not be at fault.

Those who are to inspect the track for safety or those who maintain the track can be at fault for not doing their job properly, but not the track itself.

The track didn't decide to derail the train. An obvious case of blame shifting if you ask me.

[gbroker]

Are there any reports as of yet to the cause?

[bod62uk]

92 is hardly fast for something built for 125. Still, not much damage. Tracks will be clear in less than 24 hours.
Posted by Musty2U at 10:49 AM : Feb 24, 2007

I used to be a railman for london underground.
Trust me, trains are really heavy and even at 3 or 4 mph will cause serious damage to people and property.
This is just another demonstration of what happens when railways are run for profit and not for safety.
I'm sure the people on the train didn't think that there wasn't much damage!
Investment is what needs to done instead of making cash for the higher management.

The most remarkable thing about this story is that the ordinary farmers offered assistance as they could before the rescue operation arrived. I don't think that the the British are all that different from Americans. As the late Charles Kuralt said " There good found on the back roads of America that more than makes up for all the greed in the headlines."

[musty2u]

92 is hardly fast for something built for 125. Still, not much damage. Tracks will be clear in less than 24 hours.

[gramto7]

Musty2U,

The story states:
It was traveling 95-miles-an-hour when it derailed.

It also mentions:
Branson said the train %u2014 a new model introduced in 2003 %u2014 was "built like a tank" and confirmed the carriages and most windows had remained intact. "If it had been any of the old trains the injuries and fatalities would have been horrendous."

[musty2u]

It may have been a high-speed train, but must not have been traveling AT a high-speed as there doesn't appear to me much damage.