A TRAIN collision on the Cambrian Line in Mid Wales left one person dead, four seriously injured, and a further eleven people needing hospital treatment.
The collision happened not far from Llanbrynmair near Machynlleth at around 7:30pm on Monday, October 21, on the busy Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury route.
The dead passenger has been named as Tudur Evans, who was travelling on the Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth service when the trains collided just after a passing loop at Talgereddig on the single-track rail line.
RAIB was notified of the accident at 19:45 on the night of the accident and immediately dispatched a team of inspectors to examine the site and collect evidence.
The collision caused service cancellations across Mid Wales and led to major problems on local roads as emergency services hurried to the scene.
Additional RAIB staff and specialist equipment arrived at the location on Tuesday, and accident investigators remain there to secure the necessary evidence to support a safety investigation. Their efforts will include examining both trains’ condition and downloading their ‘black box’ data recorder, inspecting the track, analysing data from railway signalling and radio systems, and interviewing witnesses.
RAIB’s initial inspection of the track on approach to the point of collision found evidence of relatively low wheel/rail adhesion, suggesting that the train may have entered a wheel slide when braking.
The line will be closed until at least the end of Friday, October 25, with replacement road transport in place.
In a joint statement, Network Rail and Transport for Wales said: “We’re extremely grateful to the emergency services who attended the scene and helped our passengers and staff in challenging circumstances. We are working closely with other agencies, including emergency services, to understand how this incident happened, and they will have our full support.”
Speaking in the Senedd, Transport Minister Ken Skates said: “In terms of the safety of the rail network, this is our prime concern: that the network is as safe as it can be. These incidents are exceptionally rare. Rail travel is still incredibly safe compared with other means of travel. At this moment in time, though, I would encourage the travelling public to plan ahead if they intend to use this particular route and to use the bus services instead whilst this investigation takes place on the ground.”
With the A470 trunk road temporarily closed to allow investigations to continue, local diversions are in place. However, Joyce Watson MS pointed out the A470’s importance.
She said, ” Many people will be affected, whether that’s schoolchildren trying to go to school or people trying to go to hospital. Those people will be very anxious to know which routes to take. So, I’m asking whether that information is available in what is a very rural area.”
Cefin Campbell echoed Joyce Watson’s concerns with a specific issue: “At the end of this month, the highway, the A470, is going to be closed for around ten weeks near Talerddig, which is very close to the site of the accident, and advice was given to travellers and to parents of pupils to use the train either to go to school or to get to whatever destination they were seeking to arrive at.”
Mr Skates responded: “At the moment, officials from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch are on the ground, and it is an extensive area that they are covering at the moment, which is why we believe that it could be several days before services resume.
“My hope is that services will resume in good time not to impact on the plans that have already been outlined and that the Member has outlined again today. But, clearly, if we were not able to honour the alternative means of travel, then we would have to revisit the plans that have been published to date.”
The Minister concluded: “We will endeavour to ensure that the lessons that need to be learned from this incident are learned as soon as possible. But we are in the hands of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, and I just want to impress the point once again: we do wish to ensure that they are given the space and the time to be able to carry out a thorough investigation.”
