Events
The crash occurred at approximately 06:13 (GMT), when a Land Rover Defender towing a loaded trailer (carrying a Renault Savanna estate car) swerved off the M62 motorway just before a bridge over the East Coast Main Line. The vehicle ran down an embankment and onto the southbound railway track. The Land Rover's driver, Gary Neil Hart, tried to reverse it off the track, but he could not. While he was using a mobile telephone to call the emergency services after exiting the vehicle, the Land Rover was hit by a southbound GNER InterCity 225 heading from Newcastle to London King's Cross at over 120 miles per hour (190 km/h).
The InterCity 225 was propelled by a Class 91 locomotive (No.91023) and led by a Driving Van Trailer (DVT). After striking the Land Rover, the leading bogie of the DVT derailed but the train stayed upright. However, points to nearby sidings deflected it into the path of an oncoming Freightliner freight train carrying coal and travelling from Immingham to Ferrybridge hauled by a Class 66 locomotive (No.66521). The freight train hit the wreckage approximately half a mile (642 metres) from the passenger train's impact with the Land Rover. The impact resulted in the near destruction of the lightweight DVT and severe to moderate damage to all nine of the InterCity 225's coaches, which mostly overturned and came to rest down an embankment to the east side of the track, in the gardens of local residents. The trailing locomotive remained upright and suffered minor damage, although it was derailed. The Class 66 freight locomotive overturned onto its left side, sustaining major damage to its cab area and right side, and the first nine wagons were derailed and damaged to varying extents.
Immediately before the impact of the two trains, the speed of the InterCity 225 was estimated as 88 mph (142 km/h) and that of the freight train as 54 mph (87 km/h). With an estimated closing speed of 142 mph (229 km/h), the collision between the trains is the highest speed railway incident that has occurred in the UK.
Read more about this topic: Great Heck Rail Crash
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