A fatal train collision occurred on Monday night, 21 October, in mid-Wales, just hours after warnings were issued regarding the slippery state of the tracks due to fallen leaves. Transport for Wales had already reduced train speeds through Dovey Junction station on the Cambrian line after previous trains reported the tracks were “extremely slippery”. The collision resulted in one passenger losing their life and 15 others being taken to hospital.
The low-speed collision, involving two passenger services, happened near Llanbrynmair in Powys, just before 7pm on the Cambrian line, a single-track route. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) dispatched a team of inspectors to the scene on Monday night and launched an official investigation into the incident.
The crash occurred near a passing loop, where trains travelling in opposite directions can safely pass each other. Initial reports from the PA news agency indicate that speed restrictions had been in place due to concerns about the track’s condition. The dangers posed by leaves on the line, which can reduce train traction and lead to dangerous situations, were already recognised before the accident.
Transport for Wales has since suspended services on the separate Heart of Wales line “until further notice”, citing “poor rail conditions”. Leaves on the tracks can compress under the weight of passing trains, forming a slippery layer similar to black ice, which can disrupt normal operations.
Speed restrictions were also put in place after a similar accident occurred outside a tunnel near Salisbury, Wiltshire, in October 2021. In that incident, a South Western Railway (SWR) train, which was the same class as the trains involved in Monday’s collision, slipped on crushed leaves and failed to stop, resulting in a collision that sent 14 people to hospital.
Railway engineer Gareth Dennis commented that modern railway safety systems are designed to minimise such risks, suggesting that investigators would closely examine whether “low adhesion” between the wheels and the track could have caused this crash. He added that another area of concern could be a failure of the European Train Control System (ETCS), an in-cab signalling system designed to prevent trains from colliding.
Welsh transport expert Rhodri Clark echoed these concerns, telling Cymru Fyw that it is essential to identify the cause to prevent a similar incident from happening again. He recalled the Salisbury crash and pointed out that leaves and slime on the rails had been factors in both collisions. “Seeing the pictures reminds me of an accident three years ago in Salisbury; there were two trains of the same type that had collided, and one of the causes there was that the tracks were slippery,” Clark said.
Clark noted that Network Rail routinely deploys special trains to clean tracks, including one that had reportedly passed through the Llanbrynmair area earlier on the day of the collision. “I think this train passed through this area near Llanbrynmair at lunchtime yesterday, so it is strange if that was the cause, or part of the cause. But still, the track may have been slippery,” he added.
Jan Chaudhry-Van Der Velde, chief operations officer for Transport for Wales, stated that it was still too early to determine the cause of the crash. Speaking to BBC Wales, he assured the public that the UK has “one of the safest railways in Europe” and that the RAIB’s investigation was underway. “Their investigation staff arrived at the scene late last night. They’re still at the scene now and they’ll be looking at all aspects of what could have caused this collision,” he said.
He also confirmed that the RAIB is expected to release an initial bulletin within the next few days, outlining early findings. A full report, which will thoroughly examine all the evidence, could take several months to complete.
