Atomic Systems

ArrivaTrains wrote:Reports coming in of a passenger train derailment near Lancaster - emergency services are on the scene.

The WCML is closed between Preston and Lancaster.

UPDATE:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4408056.stm

Caused by a landslide

skipperdipper wrote:Note that because this incident didn't happen in Liverpool nobody is taking the mickey out of the local area and everybodys taking it seriously and not just having a laugh about it!

Rob

The driver is thought to have hit a pile of clay and mud caused by the landslip at Scotforth.

spartacus wrote:
I saw a few engineers trains passing through Wigan NW at about 10:00 yesterday including one with a shark on the back/ General contects of trains - ballast, concrete sleepers, CWR etc, so presumably they were on their way to the incident.

Morecambe Visitor wrote:A WOMAN with a heart condition was flown to hospital and 140 other passengers were left deeply shocked when the train they were travelling in derailed just outside Lancaster on Friday.
The TransPennine Express from Manchester Airport to Windermere hit a landslide and veered off the tracks for almost a mile at Scotforth.
Passengers panicked when they heard a loud bang, smelled smoke and stones started hitting the windows of the carriage.
However, many of the passengers said they were unaware that the train had derailed and were relieved to escape uninjured.
Firefighters were first on the scene and they helped the disorientated passengers off the train to the nearby Burrowbeck Grange home where they were offered shelter.
The closure of the line caused huge delays for countless passengers on this busy stretch of track. The line was finally reopened at 3.30am on Monday.
Gillian Newsome, head of business support at Lancaster and Morecambe College, was one of the passengers on the derailed train. Speaking shortly after the accident, she told The Visitor: "I felt a big bang. I thought we'd hit a tree, then the train started to judder. I thought 'we're going to go down the bank'. That was ok, but the worst thing was when we saw the track – it had a massive crack in it.
"At that point we realised how lucky we were to have held it together. We could have been down that banking."
Amy Jones from Manchester, a former St Martin's College student, said: "There was a big bang and it started shaking. Rocks were flying past. They didn't tell us we had derailed.
"People were having panic attacks. The train was pretty full, but not packed."
Lucy Gough, also a St Martin's graduate, said: "We just thought, 'my god when are we getting off?' Then it was calm.
"I just wanted to get off. When I saw the smoke I panicked. I didn't know what was going on."
Laura Hudson from Barrow said: "Debris was hitting the carriage and smoke was all around us. I thought it was on fire.
"We held onto the table. Nobody tells you what to do."
Sarah Dalton from Barrow said: "I sat there and panicked. I looked around to see what everyone else was doing. I thought it was going to derail and that we'd go down the bank. I thought, what is going to hit me?
Feel
"I couldn't think rationally. I just feel really shaken now."
Laura added: "I travel from Barrow to Preston every day. This will make me think twice about travelling by train. It has really shocked me."
At the scene on Friday Alan Walker, station manager at Morecambe Fire Station, who co-ordinated the rescue, said: "We moved everyone off the train and down the track to safety.
"There were three carriages and one had a ruptured fuel tank. Several hundred litres of fuel had leaked from the tank. We stood by while the gap in the ruptured tank was plugged.
"The train was derailed for about a mile. We helped around 140 people to get off the train. One lady had an angina attack and she was taken away by the North West Air Ambulance."
Arthur Jones, of the Burrowbeck Grange home, said: "The police asked us if we would take in some passengers because they were cold and shaken up. We gave them a cup of tea. It was no problem. Some of them looked very shocked.
"I didn't hear the bang, but I could smell aviation fuel because I'm ex-services."
David Mallender, a spokesperson for rail company TransPennine Express, said: "It (the derailment) was caused by a landslip. Basically there was a lot of mud on the line. Effectively it was derailed, but only a couple of wheels came off the rails.
"Nobody was hurt. One woman who had chest pains was taken to hospital.
"Network Rail is examining the line and the side of the tracks."
He added that there was now no danger to passengers.

but I could smell aviation fuel because I'm ex-services

phill70 wrote:

but I could smell aviation fuel because I'm ex-services

???