Grayrigg Derailment - Incident

Incident

Train 1S83, the 17:15 Virgin West Coast Pendolino West Coast Main Line InterCity service from London Euston to Glasgow Central was derailed by a faulty set of points almost immediately after crossing the Docker Viaduct (the rear half of the train would still have been crossing the bridge whilst the front derailed at the points). The train was reported to have been travelling at up to 155 km/h (96 mph) when it was derailed. The train, consisting of unit 390 033 City of Glasgow, which was constructed at Washwood Heath, Birmingham in 2002, had nine carriages and carried 105 passengers and four members of staff.

Passengers said that the carriages of the train began rocking and swaying violently before the train derailed. The train was reported as being evacuated at around midnight. Emergency crews scanned the train with thermal imagery equipment to make sure there was no one still inside. Up to 500 rescuers attended the scene, along with at least 12 ambulances, at least five fire engines, three Royal Air Force Sea King search and rescue helicopters, the International Rescue Corps, three civilian mountain rescue teams plus RAF Leeming Mountain Rescue Team, and one Merseyside Police helicopter. The rescue operation was hindered by rain, darkness, and access problems caused by the narrow country lanes and muddy fields. Emergency vehicles experienced difficult conditions, needing to be towed by farm vehicles or tractors after becoming bogged down in mud.

Live BBC television coverage at 08:15 the following morning showed that although the whole train had been derailed, the rear carriages were standing nearly vertically on the sleepers and ballast. Standard class, the front five carriages, were the worst affected, and the rear four first class carriages were in better condition. The leading carriage, a driving motor coach, had headed down the embankment, and turned end-for-end as it fell. It was lying on its side at the foot of the embankment. The second carriage had jack-knifed against the first, breaking the coupling, and so had not followed it down the bank. This second carriage came to rest some distance further along the track, at a steep angle with one end in the air. The middle part of the train toppled sideways down the embankment. All the carriages remained structurally intact, with damage mainly confined to the crumple zones at their ends. None of the windows broke, and lighting remained in all the carriages. Most injuries occurred in the front two carriages. The driver, who had stayed at the controls (but had little option to move once the accident had started and had no prior indication of derailment), was trapped for about an hour while specialist cutting equipment was used to free him from his cab. The other three members of the crew were in the rear first class section of the train.

Survivors were initially received at Grayrigg Primary School, which had been opened as a Survivor Reception Centre. Hospitals in the area, including some over the Scottish border in Dumfries and Galloway, were put on standby, but not all received patients. According to BBC News, five passengers were admitted to Royal Preston Hospital in a critical condition. Police later released a statement revealing that one passenger, 84-year-old Margaret Masson from Glasgow, had died in hospital. Her funeral took place on 31 March 2007 at Craigton crematorium in Glasgow.