News / Transport
Driver of Bristol-bound train suffers ‘life-changing’ injuries in crash
A collision involving a Bristol-bound train has sparked an investigation after 17 passengers were hospitalised.
The service from Portsmouth Harbour to Temple Meads was involved in a collision with a South Western Railway service at 6.45pm on Sunday in Fisherton Tunnel near Salisbury.
Both trains were travelling in the same direction but on different tracks, with passengers describing how they were thrown out of their seats in the crash.
At the time, there were 92 passengers on board the trains who were then evacuated and led to safety. Seventeen people were taken to hospital including the driver who is believed to have suffered “life-changing injuries”.
Detective chief inspector Paul Langley of the British Transport Police said: “This will no doubt have been an incredibly frightening experience for all those involved and our thoughts are with them and their families.
“This has been a large scale, multi-agency operation and I would like to pay particular thanks to our emergency service colleagues for their efforts in safely evacuations passengers, and to the many members of the local community who reached out with offers to help.”
Around 30 people from the crash attended a casualty centre which was set up in a nearby church.
On Monday, a spokesperson from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said: “ORR safety inspectors are on site this morning, working with the Rail Investigation Branch (RAIB) and the British Transport Police to investigate how the incident happened.
“It is too early to speculate on the cause, and our investigation will work to understand the full circumstances. Our thoughts are with all the passengers that were injured.”
The railway line was closed in while the investigation was carried out with Great Western Railway urging commuters not to travel on that part of the network.
A statement from GWR said: “We’re extremely grateful to the emergency services who attended the scene and helped our customers and staff in extremely difficult circumstances.”
Main photo by Geof Sheppard via Wiki Commons
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