Man dies, 15 injured, after two trains collide in Wales

[caravanman]

A man has died following a low-speed collision involving two trains in Wales, British Transport Police (BTP) has confirmed.

A further 15 people have been taken to hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing, the force said.

All other passengers have been moved away from both trains, one of which was travelling from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and the other from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury.

The crash happened near the village of Llanbrynmair, in Powys, at about 19:30 BST on Monday.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y0yg7m8meo

 

[cirdan]

It seems from the reports that this was yet another SPAD incident.

Very sad.

 

[BlackDiamond]

From the report it looks like the collision took place just west of Talerddig where there is a passing loop (passing siding in American) for the otherwise single track line.

I rode this line back in 1971 when it was still dispatched using tokens passed between trains at the passing loops, worked by manual signal boxes. I believe the line now has electronic equivalents for the old token system.

Being Autumn I wonder if leaves on the track could have been a contributing factor to not being able to stop at the signal.

 

[caravanman]

Being Autumn I wonder if leaves on the track could have been a contributing factor to not being able to stop at the signal.

It seems as though that might be a major cause, as other lines in the area were operating at reduced speeds due to "slippery rails".

(There was a similar train crash in the Salisbury area in October 2021)

 

[cirdan]

As a small side note, for those wondering how to correctly pronounce the Welsh place names in the articles, the double d (dd) is pronounced rather like a th as in "those", maybe a little more forceful with the tongue at the front of the mouth touching the front teeth and pushing a little air between them. The double l is more a thl or khl (especially in North Wales). But if you can't do that, don't worry, most English people don't pronounce them correctly either.