Hither Green Railway Accident

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In the railway accident at Hither Green derailed on Nov. 5, 1967 in front of the railway station of Hither Green because of a rail breakage an express train . 49 people died.

Starting position

The express train from Hastings to London Charing Cross consisted of two diesel-electric railcars (1007 and 1017 built in 1957 and 1958) each with six cars from the 201 series in steel construction . About 550 passengers traveled on the heavily occupied train , and many were standing. Due to a restriction in the clearance profile of tunnels on the South Eastern Main Line , only special, 30 cm narrower vehicles could be used here. These were overall lighter and tended to roll at high speeds.

The South Eastern Main Line, which the train used, had recently received a partial new superstructure , but there were also sections in which older rails lay, which consisted of individual pieces that were connected with tabs . In the summer of 1967 the timetable was increased on the route , the train sequence was condensed and the maximum speed allowed.

the accident

At around 9:16 p.m., the train traveled the section between Grove Park and Hither Green stations at a speed of around 110 km / h . Here a rail break had occurred shortly before the Hither Green station: the end of a rail and the connecting strap had broken through on a rail joint. The first two vehicles in the unit passed the damaged area unimpaired, but the front bogie of the third car got stuck on the broken-out piece of rail and derailed. In this condition, the train continued for about 400 meters until the derailed bogie got stuck in a switch . As a result, all cars - except the leading one - derailed. The clutches and brake hoses tore, so that the car in front came to a halt after another 400 meters after an emergency brake was triggered . The following five cars overturned, one of which had its side wall torn off.

consequences

49 people died. In addition, 78 people were injured, 27 of them seriously.

The investigation report found that the rail breakage was due to material fatigue, but also a lack of track maintenance. Several broken rails had already been discovered on the same route in the days and weeks before, but always before - as here - a whole section of rail had broken out. The route maintenance was subsequently intensified.

Since the accident site was in the city of London , help was on the spot very quickly. The first injured was admitted to Lewisham hospital 18 minutes after the accident. The Lewisham railway accident , which occurred ten years earlier in the same district, had also contributed to an improvement in the rescue service.

Further worth knowing

Among the survivors were the singer Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees and his future wife Molly.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ministry of Transport (ed.): Report , p. 3: Photo of the damaged track section.
  2. ^ Ministry of Transport (ed.): Report.
  3. ↑ NN: How my obsession with the Titanic has helped save my life . In: Mail on Sunday v. January 22, 2012.

Coordinates: 51 ° 26 ′ 36.6 ″  N , 0 ° 0 ′ 26.7 ″  E