Marcus' Model Railway Journey

22 October 2024



Slippery rails cause disruption to trains across Wales

Transport for Wales service at Hereford

Transport for Wales is urging passengers to plan ahead, as slippery rails caused by the autumn leaf-fall season is causing delays across the network.

The lines affected are Hereford – Abergavenny, Shrewsbury – Swansea, Chester – Wrexham General, Bidston – Wrexham Central and Llandudno Junction – Blaenau Ffestiniog.

The Heart of Wales is currently closed until further notice, with a number of bus operators on standby on the other routes should cancellations need to be made.

Trains may be cancelled or delayed by up to 60 minutes. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

The incident happened between Shrewsbury and Machynlleth in Mid Wales at about 7.30pm

Emergency services remained at the scene on Tuesday morning

The scene of the collision

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) deployed a team of inspectors to the site of the crash in Llanbrynmair, in Powys, last night.

This was an initial deployment, and once the site is inspected, decisions will be made on the need for further resources.

The primary aim of the RAIB team is to gather evidence and work through the crash site, and an update is expected shortly.

The RAIB is a British government agency that independently investigates rail accidents in the United Kingdom in order to find a cause, not to lay blame.

In the initial aftermath of the crash, the RAIB inspectors will be on site to interview all witnesses, examine the trains and tracks and gather all digital evidence, such as CCTV if it exists on the trains.

There should be “on train data recorders” fitted to the trains involved - they are like a “black box” and would gather anything that had been happening.

After an incident, the data can be downloaded and analysed.

The RAIB will then be trying to determine what caused the accident and would then make recommendations.

Generally speaking, the RAIB would aim to complete an investigation within a year of the occurrence.

Anthony Hurford was a passenger on the Shrewsbury-bound train

Anthony Hurford, a passenger on the Shrewsbury-bound train, said he felt "pretty shell-shocked" by the incident.

"The word that keeps coming to my head is just brutal really," he told BBC Breakfast.

"Just going from, I don't know how fast we were going, maybe 40, 50, 60 miles an hour, to nothing in the blink of an eye.

"Somehow my body bent the leg of a table and ripped it off its bolts attached to the wall.

"Suddenly I was on the floor with my laptop strewn ahead of me, wondering what the hell had happened."

Mr Hurford described the train trying to stop at lights, but said "for whatever reason", it didn't come to a halt.

"There must have been 30 to 40 people from fire [service]," he added.

"There was British Transport Police who had come from Birmingham, there were three helicopters, people had come from north and south Wales as far as I'm aware.

"I was checked by three or four different medics."

Two trains have collided at Talerddig, Wales.

Both trains are reported to be Class 158s running in 2 car sets and as we know the Class 158 stands up very well in this sort of event.

The trains involved are:
1S71 Machynlleth to Shrewsbury
1J25 Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth

Realtime trains says
1S71 = 158824
1J25 = 158841

They are definitely 158s since they're passenger trains on the Cambrian.

Here's 158824, British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter, diesel multiple unit passenger train in happier times at Cardiff Central on the 1W55 0751 Fishguard Harbour-Manchester Piccadilly on June 4, 2022

And here's Transport for Wales 158841 standing in platform 2 at Cardiff Central, working 2G54, 11:15 Maesteg - Cheltenham, 18th November 2023.

22 Oct 2024

Update on Powys rail incident

Joint statement: Network Rail and Transport for Wales



Joint statement: Network Rail and Transport for Wales

At 7.29pm on Monday 21 October, two TfW trains were involved in a low speed collision near Llanbrynmair in Powys, Mid Wales.

Sadly one passenger has passed away, and a number of other people are being treated for injuries at nearby hospitals.

Our first thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the man who has lost his life, as well as all the other people involved in this incident.

The Cambrian railway east of Machynlleth will be closed while specialist teams continue their investigations, and we urge passengers not to travel to this part of the network.

We're extremely grateful to the emergency services who attended the scene and helped our passengers and staff in challenging circumstances.

we are working closely with other agencies, including emergency services, to understand how this incident happened and they will have our full support.