TPE Train Derailment on the WCML (Lancaster)

[ArrivaTrains]

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

[cardiffcroupier]

There are also problems on the WCML due to an arson attack on signalling equipment:

Virgin Trains service update following vandalism at Rugeley
Every effort is being made to run as many trains as possible from Euston during the late afternoon and early evening today (Friday 4 November) to cater for the weekend rush. However, vandalism to signalling equipment in the Rugeley area is restricting the number of trains we can run over the normally busy Trent Valley Main Line between Rugby and Stafford.

Inevitably some trains from Euston will be crowded this evening and passengers may wish to consider travelling earlier in the afternoon or later in the evening, or delaying their journeys until tomorrow morning.

The following trains will be altered after 1530 today from Euston :
1535 Euston to Manchester withdrawn
1548 Euston to Holyhead starts from Crewe
1655 Euston to Birmingham New Street withdrawn
1721 Euston to Holyhead starts from Crewe
1748 Euston to Manchester withdrawn
1752 Euston to Birmingham New Street withdrawn
1857 Euston to Birmingham New Street withdrawn
1935 Euston to Manchester withdrawn
1938 Euston to Holyhead starts from Crewe

For full details of train times and alterations passengers are asked to contact 08457 48 49 50.

Infomation last updated on 04 November 2005 at 14:55

[NorthernRail]

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

It Was The Man Picc To Windermere NO Injuries reported

[martinhodgson]

No injuries at Lancaster - glad I'm not driving past it though, traffic is a nightmare due to rubbernecking!

Was a 3 car class 175 (175 103 apparantly) heading to Windermere from Manchester Airport

[skipperdipper]

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

[NorthernRail]

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

Dang Scousers nicked the fence lol

[NorthernRail]

I have absolutely nothing against scousers but Lime Street is the only station that if u leave ya train there for 5 mins you come back and its on bricks lmao

hey m8 stop takin things so seriously, I work on the trains and every fare dodger takes the p*** outta me lol

thats until they get arrested of course lol

[spartacus]

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

What good is punching the landslip going to do?

3 car 175 ended up partially in the 6ft.

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.

[skipperdipper]

Saw the train on North West Tonight. 175103 had mud all over the front and some down the sides.

Rob

[bdy26]

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.

There was planned engineering work going on anyway - there was a number of sections of OHLE being worked on that I could see from the M6 between Preston and Lancaster, there may have been track work going on as well. I don't suppose having a derailment there helped!

[dikkidee]

Nothing wrong with Liverpool - It has the finest public transport system in the world - any parked and unattended Ford!!

[martinhodgson]

Despite the lack of national outcry/outrage/over reporting of the event, our local newspaper took a leaf out of the 'Sun' book of journalism, with the headline "Train Passengers in Crash Nightmare", which seems a little OTT considering there was only one 'casualty'.

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.

[phill70]

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

???

[spartacus]

Obviously 175s need something with a little more kick than normal diesels!

[martinhodgson]

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

???

I was thinking that was odd when I read the paper this morning, I didn't think trains ran on jet fuel, but decided not to comment as I'm not sure!