Another Level Crossing Incident

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Chaos on the early morning commutes through Ludlow, Leominster Hereford etc this morning after another level crossing incident.

"A road accident on a level crossing at Leominster means trains are unable to run between Shrewsbury and Hereford. We anticipate disruption will continue until approximately 09:00."

Customer Advice:

Buses are running between Shrewsbury and Hereford.

You may use CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, London Midland and Virgin Trains on reasonable routes.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

Chaos on the early morning commutes through Ludlow, Leominster Hereford etc this morning after another level crossing incident.

"A road accident on a level crossing at Leominster means trains are unable to run between Shrewsbury and Hereford. We anticipate disruption will continue until approximately 09:00."

Customer Advice:

Buses are running between Shrewsbury and Hereford.

You may use CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, London Midland and Virgin Trains on reasonable routes.

Train vs Road Vehicle or Road Vehicle vs Road Vehicle?

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

update from the bbc....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-shropshire-38854508



HGV hits house: Road shut 'for most of the day'

Posted at
8:31




The fire service says the A44 in Leominster will be closed "for most of the day" after a HGV collided with a house at the Mill Street level crossing.

The railway line between Shrewsbury and Hereford is closed and a bus replacement service is being run.

Disruption on the train is expected until at least 13:30.


So vehicle v level crossing house by the looks of it

 

[IanXC]

One wonders what the expected resumption of service time would be if the BTP were dealing with this....

 

[PHILIPE]

update from the bbc....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-shropshire-38854508



HGV hits house: Road shut 'for most of the day'

Posted at
8:31




The fire service says the A44 in Leominster will be closed "for most of the day" after a HGV collided with a house at the Mill Street level crossing.

The railway line between Shrewsbury and Hereford is closed and a bus replacement service is being run.

Disruption on the train is expected until at least 13:30.


So vehicle v level crossing house by the looks of it

NRE saying ETA now 1700. It appears to me from snippets of news that no trains involved but road incident which happened to foul the level crossing.

 

[craigybagel]

NRE saying ETA now 1700. It appears to me from snippets of news that no trains involved but road incident which happened to foul the level crossing.

That's correct, no trains involved thankfully but the line is completely blocked. The truck also took out a power line which isn't helping the matter.

 

[eastdyke]

Picture from The Shropshire Star:

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...ssing/&usg=AFQjCNFQXsO_RXnGvDarJwnDgeK2F08xaQ

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Picture from The Shropshire Star:

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...ssing/&usg=AFQjCNFQXsO_RXnGvDarJwnDgeK2F08xaQ

Oh wow!! Good work :roll:

Skidded on Ice possibly? Doesn't look like it has gone head on into anything. More slid sideways sort of position.

 

[eastdyke]

Oh wow!! Good work :roll:

Skidded on Ice possibly? Doesn't look like it has gone head on into anything. More slid sideways sort of position.

Or simply failed to take the bend.

 

[GB]

This is not a level crossing incident. It is a road traffic collision that just happens to be in close proximity to a level crossing.

 

[eastdyke]

More information on BBC with further pictures:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-38928758

In particular:

...A lorry carrying 28 tonnes of grain has crashed into a house next to a level crossing.


No-one was injured in the crash....

 

[eastdyke]

This is not a level crossing incident. It is a road traffic collision that just happens to be in close proximity to a level crossing.

But it is a level crossing incident. The railway is disrupted, the lorry trailer is blocking the railway. I also suspect that the offside warning lights and telephone have been demolished or damaged.

I agree that no train was involved in the incident.

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

This is not a level crossing incident. It is a road traffic collision that just happens to be in close proximity to a level crossing.

Tell that to all the people disrupted and journey's cancelled or having to take rail replacement buses this morning!

I doubt they feel like it is a RTC

 

[mikemcniven]

Line to be shut until later today (Arriva saying around 1700). Wonder what caused the incident and good to see now trains were involved
https://twitter.com/NetworkRailWAL/status/829989262456188928

 

[bramling]

This is not a level crossing incident. It is a road traffic collision that just happens to be in close proximity to a level crossing.

Consequences could have been rather worse at an AHB crossing in the wrong circumstances.

 

[trainophile]

Edited, need to check my facts.

No I was right, so I will repeat... hope they get it sorted before the Six Nations crowds travelling to Cardiff tomorrow!

 

[Swanny200]

Consequences could have been rather worse at an AHB crossing in the wrong circumstances.

Funnily enough I was reading one of the old Railway Accident reports yesterday, one of which related to the Hixon Level Crossing incident in the 60's.

For those not in the know,The Hixon train crash in 1968 was caused by a low loader carrying a Transformer going too slow across an AHB crossing, the driver never having experienced one before so didn't think to call the signal box to ask about the potential of a passing train (at one point thinking that him being on the crossing would stop the train at a signal) and an express hit the low loader causing 11 deaths.

This level crossing (I am assuming there is only one in Leominster) was named in the report, as a similar low loader belonging to the same company was grounded on this crossing a few months before the accident and narrowly averted a major accident by revving the guts out of the vehicle, getting it off just in time.

 

[Dr Hoo]

Line now open. On first southbound train going through.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Oh wow!! Good work :roll:
Skidded on Ice possibly? Doesn't look like it has gone head on into anything. More slid sideways sort of position.

The road has only a shallow curve at that point (used to be the A49 before the by-pass was built).
Difficult to see how the truck ran off the road.
https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?query=mill street leominster#map=18/52.23148/-2.73239

 

[EbbwJunction1]

"I am assuming there is only one in Leominster"

You are correct .... the other crossings north and south of the station are all over bridges.

 

[2HAP]

Funnily enough I was reading one of the old Railway Accident reports yesterday, one of which related to the Hixon Level Crossing incident in the 60's.

For those not in the know,The Hixon train crash in 1968 was caused by a low loader carrying a Transformer going too slow across an AHB crossing, the driver never having experienced one before so didn't think to call the signal box to ask about the potential of a passing train (at one point thinking that him being on the crossing would stop the train at a signal) and an express hit the low loader causing 11 deaths.

This level crossing (I am assuming there is only one in Leominster) was named in the report, as a similar low loader belonging to the same company was grounded on this crossing a few months before the accident and narrowly averted a major accident by revving the guts out of the vehicle, getting it off just in time.

The driver at Hixon was under police escort. It is they that carry the can for that one, along with British Rail for inadequate signage at the crossing.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

First trains Hereford-Shrewsbury ran at about 1430.
Not clear if Gerald will make it to Cardiff in time for the 1716 return to Holyhead.

 

[PHILIPE]

First trains Hereford-Shrewsbury ran at about 1430.
Not clear if Gerald will make it to Cardiff in time for the 1716 return to Holyhead.

Gerald returned ECS to Holyhead as 5Z91 after terminating Shrewsbury. 175/1 on 1W96

 

[455driver]

Funnily enough I was reading one of the old Railway Accident reports yesterday, one of which related to the Hixon Level Crossing incident in the 60's.

For those not in the know,The Hixon train crash in 1968 was caused by a low loader carrying a Transformer going too slow across an AHB crossing, the driver never having experienced one before so didn't think to call the signal box to ask about the potential of a passing train (at one point thinking that him being on the crossing would stop the train at a signal) and an express hit the low loader causing 11 deaths.

He also had a Police escort who didnt know what to do either.

 

[TimboM]

What is with loads of grain an railway incidents at the moment...!?

 

[Swanny200]

He also had a Police escort who didnt know what to do either.

Agreed the report did say though that the police was there to escort the load, not to check to see if it was ok to cross, that was down to the driver, but seeing as the company that owned the low loader had a previous situation with the crossing at Leominster and had known about these fairly new to them (at the time) type of crossings, that they should have gathered all the information and then properly briefed the driver accordingly.

It was interesting what was reported about the attitude of B.R at the time as to how to deal with large goods vehicles crossing their railway, the Leominster one in particular in the fact that the surface was unfinished and that the low loader became beached on the crossing. The signage had to be changed as it wasn't very clear so at least some good came of it, although had the directors of the company learned the lesson of what happened at Leominster and done their homework on AHB's then 11 people may not have perished at Hixon that day.

The crash happened in 1968, the Leominster incident happened a little while before that, but according to most sources the first automatic crossing was 7 years old by this time, so you kind of have to ask the question as to how the company knew nothing of them in the first place.