Yahoo Finance Salisbury crash train ran through red light as wheel slipped on rails, investigators say
A train involved in a crash in Salisbury went past a red signal as its wheels slipped on the rails, investigators believe.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said the “initial evidence” indicates that the driver applied the brakes but could not prevent the collision.
It went on: “The most likely cause of this was wheelslide, almost certainly a result of low adhesion between the wheels and the track.”
The driver had to be rescued from his cab, and suffered what police described as “life-changing injuries”.
He was driving a South Western Railway train which struck the side of a Great Western Railway service at a junction outside a tunnel in Salisbury at around 6.45pm on Sunday.
Thirteen other people were treated in hospital for minor injuries.
RAIB deputy chief inspector Andrew Hall said in a statement: "A team of RAIB inspectors arrived on site on Sunday evening and were joined yesterday by additional inspectors and our support team. We are working alongside partner organisations including the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and BTP. Our investigation is progressing well.
"Yesterday our focus was on evidence retrieval, we have been working with police scene officers to examine the train. We have also undertaken a close examination of the track and signalling in the area, and started to talk to those involved. Analysis of downloads from the trains' data recorders, electronic data from the signalling system and CCTV imagery is ongoing.
"From the initial evidence we have collected, we know that that the passage of the Great Western train travelling from Eastleigh across Salisbury tunnel junction was being protected by a red signal. At this junction, trains coming from Eastleigh merge with those from Basingstoke, so the South Western service coming from Basingstoke was required to stop at that signal.
"Unfortunately, it did not stop and struck the side of the Great Western train at an angle such that both trains derailed and ran alongside each other into the tunnel just beyond the junction.
"Initial evidence indicates that the South Western train driver applied the brakes as it approached the junction and the red signal, but the train was unable to stop before passing the signal.
"This evidence suggests that the most likely cause of this was wheelslide, almost certainly a result of low adhesion between the wheels and the track. We are continuing to pursue this as a line of investigation amongst others.
"In consultation with other parties, we continue to work with the railway recovery engineers to ensure that the site is handed back in the shortest time possible. We intend to begin releasing parts of the site back to Network Rail later today.
"Later this week we'll be releasing the initial findings of the investigation, these will be publicly available on our website."
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