List of rail accidents in the UK

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The UK Rail Accident List lists, in chronological order, accidents on UK rail transport that have resulted in loss of life or great damage.

19th century

Until 1839

• The Brunton's Mechanical Traveler steam locomotive was wrecked on July 31, 1815 by a boiler explosion in Philadelphia , County Durham , England . Depending on the source, 13 or 16 people - mostly spectators - who were standing close to the strange vehicle died in the explosion.
• In the Parkside railway accident , during the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway on September 15, 1830, the Liverpool MP and former British Colonial, War and Trade Secretary William Huskisson was run over. He died of the consequences of the accident. This was the first railway accident in which a passenger was fatally injured.

1840-1859

• In the Howden railway accident in Yorkshire on August 7, 1840 , a mixed train detached cargo and derailed the train. Four people died. The accident was the first in the world to be investigated by a railway inspectorate.
• In the Sonning railway accident on the morning of December 24, 1841, a mixed train of the Great Western Railway (GWR) on the Great Western Main Line from London-Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads Station derailed when it fell into a landslide. 9 travelers died.
• When Wallers Ash tunnel collapse on April 2, 1842, a section of the railway tunnel at Wallers Ash, Hampshire , collapsed . Four people died. This was one of the earliest tunnel accidents in railway history.
• In the railway accident in the Clay Cross Tunnel on March 29, 1844, the engine driver of a train died as a result of a rear-end collision. The accident was typical for the railway company at the time, which worked with a backup by time interval.
• The West Harton railway accident was a multiple collision between two trains and a parked group of cars on October 8, 1844 in West Harton , South Shields , England , which was based on the then very imperfect train protection systems. Two people died.
• In the Penshurst railway accident on January 20, 1846, a railway bridge between Penshurst and Tonbridge , Kent , collapsed under a train passing over it. The engine driver died. This is the oldest known railway accident caused by a bridge collapse.

Railway accident on the Dee Bridge

• The railway accident on the Dee Bridge was a serious railway accident that occurred on May 24, 1847 near Chester , Cheshire , on the North Wales Coast Line by a bridge collapse and killed at least five people.
• The Sutton railway accident was a rear-end collision between a special train and two other trains that had broken down in the Sutton Tunnel on April 30, 1851. Nine people died.
• In the 1854 South Croydon railway accident , an excursion train drove into a water-holding locomotive on August 21. The locomotive of the excursion train and the baggage car following it derailed and were carried out of the curve. The following cars pushed into one another. Three people died and 11 others were injured, some seriously.
• The Lewisham railway accident was a rear-end collision on June 28, 1857 in Lewisham station in the London borough of the same name . 12 people died.

Derailed part of the train at Round Oak

• In the Round Oak railway accident on August 23, 1858, an escaped train part that had come loose from a train set and then rolled down a slope collided between the stations of Round Oak and Brettel Lane , today: Metropolitan Borough of Dudley , with a second train, who just drove up this slope. 14 people died. This was the most momentous railway accident in Great Britain at the time.

1860-1879

• In the railway accident at Helmshore on September 4, 1860, a part of the train that had escaped on a slope collided with a following train at Helmshore station . 11 people died.
• In the railway accident at Epsom Branch Junction (Raynes Park, Surrey , now London Borough of Merton ) on January 28, 1861, a train of the London and South Western Railway derailed at the junction of the railway line to Epsom at what is now Raynes Park station . A person died: Queen Victoria's personal physician , Dr. Baly.
• The railway accident in the Clayton Tunnel was the collision of two passenger trains in the railway tunnel on August 25, 1861. 23 people died and around 176 were mostly seriously injured. This was the worst railway accident in British history at the time.
• The Kentish Town railway accident on September 2, 1861 was the flanking of a passenger train in a shunting freight train at Kentish Town station . At least 16 people died.

Head-on collision at Winchburgh

• In the Winchburgh railway accident on October 13, 1862, two passenger trains collided head- on 2 km northwest of Winchburgh , Linlithgowshire , Scotland on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway . 17 people died.
• In the Rednal railway accident on June 7, 1865, a train derailed when the braking force was insufficient in an insufficiently secured construction site in front of Rednal station . 13 people died.

Staplehurst Railway Accident

• The Staplehurst , Kent railway accident was a bridge collapse under a moving train during construction work on the bridge over the River Beult on the South Eastern Main Line on June 9, 1865. The accident killed 10 passengers and injured 40. One of the passengers on the train was the writer Charles Dickens .
• In the railway accident in the Welwyn Tunnel on June 9, 1866, three freight trains collided in the Welwyn North Tunnel . Two people died. After the damage to property and material, it is said to have been one of the largest rail accidents in Great Britain.
• The railway accident at Warrington was a rear-end collision that occurred on June 29, 1867 at Walton Junction south of Warrington , Cheshire , because the safety device used there against such railway accidents no longer corresponded to the state of the art. Eight people died.
• In the Abergele railway accident on August 20, 1868, near the village of Abergele in the county of Conwy in Wales, an express train with runaway freight cars collided . In the wreckage, 33 people died in the subsequent fire from leaking paraffin oil. This was the worst rail accident in Great Britain to date.
• The Newark railway accident consisted of the derailment of a train on June 21, 1870 in Newark-on-Trent , Nottinghamshire , after a broken axle , with a second train running into the rubble. 18 people died.
• The Thorpe railway accident was the head-on collision of two trains on a single-track route of the Great Eastern Railway on September 10, 1874 between the stations of Norwich-Thorpe in the county of Norfolk in England and Brundall . 25 people died.
• In the Shipton-on-Cherwell railway accident on December 24, 1874, an express train derailed after a tire broke on the Cherwell Valley Line of the Great Western Railway near Shipton-on-Cherwell , Oxfordshire , England . 34 dead and 65 seriously injured were the result.

Collapse of the Firth of Tay Bridge

• The railway accident on the Firth of Tay Bridge was caused by the collapse under a train from Edinburgh to Dundee on December 28, 1879. 75 people were killed.

1880-1899

• In the Penistone railway accident on July 16, 1884, an express train derailed after a broken axle in front of Penistone Station , South Yorkshire . 24 people died.
• The railway accident Hexthorpe was a rear-end collision , located in the breakpoint of Hexthorpe on a range of South Yorkshire Railway km west 2.5 of Doncaster occurred on 16 September 1887th 25 people died.
• The Armagh railway accident on June 12, 1889 in Northern Ireland was caused by a number of technical inadequacies and was the worst railway accident that has ever occurred in Ireland . 81 dead and 260 injured were the result.

20th century

1900-1919

Boat train derailed in Salisbury

• The railway accident at Liverpool-Dingle station on December 22, 1901 was the first serious accident on an electrically operated railway in which several travelers were also killed.
• The Hall Road railway accident was a rear-end collision at Hall Road train station in the northern outskirts of Liverpool on July 27, 1905, in which 20 people died.
• The Salisbury railway accident on July 1, 1906 was caused by the excessive speed of a boat train which was traveling from Plymouth-Friary station in Plymouth to London Waterloo station and which derailed in a tight curve shortly after passing Salisbury station . 28 people died in the accident and others were injured.
• The railway accident at Elliot Junction on December 28, 1906 was the rear-end collision of an empty express train set in adverse winter weather and snow conditions at almost 50 km / h at Elliot Junction station on a passenger train waiting there. 22 people died.

The accident at Quintinshill claimed 230 lives.

• The Quintinshill railway accident in Dumfriesshire , Scotland , was the collision of three trains on May 22, 1915, in which 230 people were killed and 246 injured and five trains were destroyed. It is the most momentous railway accident in Great Britain to date.

1920-1939

• In the Abermule railway accident on January 26, 1921, a passenger train collided with an express train in Wales between Abermule and Newtown . 17 people died as a result of the accident and around 20 were injured.
• In the Darlington rail accident on June 27, 1928, a special train collided with a shunting train at Bank Top station in Darlington . 25 people died.
• The Castlecary railway accident was a rear-end collision on December 10, 1937 near Castlecary , Scotland . 35 people died.

1940-1959

• In the Norton Fitzwarren railway accident on the night of November 4, 1940, a train ran over the end of a guard track after a signal was mixed up and derailed. 26 people died. * The Ballymacarrett rail accident was when a train collided with a stationary passenger train in front of Ballymacarrett Station , in the suburbs of Belfast , Northern Ireland , on January 10, 1945, killing 22 people.
• In the Bourne End railway accident on September 30, 1945, a train derailed on the West Coast Main Line at Bourne End in Hertfordshire due to excessive speed . 43 people died.
• The Lichfield Railway Accident was a rear-end collision that occurred on January 1, 1946 at Lichfield Trent Valley Railway Station in Lichfield , England . 20 people died. This accident is one of the few in which the mechanical safety of the driveway failed.
• The South Croydon railway accident was a rear-end collision between two suburban trains on October 24, 1947 in fog in the southern London borough of Croydon , caused by the illegal intervention of a signalman in the train control . 32 people died.
• In the Goswick railway accident on October 26, 1947, the Flying Scotsman derailed at the railway station in the village of Goswick , Northumberland , England , on the East Coast Main Line . 28 people died.
• In the Winsford railway accident on April 17, 1948 , a mail train ran onto a night express train from Glasgow to London Euston at Winsford on the West Coast Main Line , formerly the London, Midland and Scottish Railway . 24 people died. This was the first major accident under the direction of British Railways, which had been founded a few months earlier .

Accident site at Harrow and Wealdstone

• There were three trains involved in the railway accident at Harrow and Wealdstone station on October 8, 1952. 122 dead and 340 injured were lost and there was considerable damage also to the affected railway infrastructure of the station of Harrow and Wealdstone , London .
• The Lewisham railway accident was a rear-end collision at Lewisham station in the London borough of the same name , in which a bridge was destroyed on December 4, 1957, which fell on the train. 90 dead and 173 injured were the result.

1960-1979

• The Winsford railway accident on December 26, 1962 was a rear-end collision between an express train and another express train south of Winsford Station on the West Coast Main Line at Coppenhall Junction . 18 people died.
• In the Hither Green railway accident on November 5, 1967, an express train derailed in front of Hither Green station due to a broken rail . 49 people died.
• In the Moorgate underground accident on February 28, 1975, a train from the Highbury Branch of the Northern Line , now the Northern City Line , ran almost unbraked against the end wall of the Moorgate tunnel and terminal station on the line operated by the London Underground at that time End of the tunnel where the track ended. 43 dead and 74 injured were the result. This was the worst rail accident in the history of the London Underground .

1980-1999

• The bomb explosion Dunmurry occurred on 17 January 1980, when in a train on the railway line Belfast-Derry was traveling in Dunmurry , Northern Ireland , a firebomb the Provisional Irish Republican Army exploded (IRA) prematurely. Three people were killed and five others were injured.
• The fire at King's Cross St. Pancras Station was a major fire in King's Cross St. Pancras Underground Station in London on November 18, 1987, in which 31 people died. It is one of the worst accidents in the history of the London Underground .

Cleanup after the Clapham Junction accident

• The Clapham Junction railway accident on December 12, 1988 at Clapham Junction Railway Station in the London borough of Battersea was caused by an incorrectly wired signal . There were three trains involved in him. 35 people died and 500 were also injured.
• The railway accident at Ladbroke Grove (rarely, railway accident from Paddington ) was a head-on collision, located in the London district of Ladbroke Grove on the access route to the terminal station from London Paddington occurred on 5 October 1999th An outgoing train ran over a signal indicating "stop" and collided with an incoming train. 31 dead and 523 injured were the result. This was the worst accident ever to occur on the Great Western Main Line , and it was instrumental in reversing part of the rail reform in Britain .

21st century

• The July 7, 2005 terrorist attacks in London were a series of Islamist suicide attacks in London on civilians using the city's public transport during the morning rush hour. 56 people (including the four suicide bombers) were killed and over 700 injured. These are the worst terrorist attacks in the history of Great Britain.

See also

• List of serious accidents in rail transport
• Navigation bar lists of railway accidents

Individual evidence

1. ^ Railways Archive - Accident Archive
2. ^ Accident report at Railways Archive
3. ^ Excerpt from the accident report in: Railways Archive
4. ^ Report in the Railways Archive
5. ^ Railways Archive - Accident Archive
6. ↑ Major General CW Pasley: Accident at Clay Cross Tunnel on March 29th, 1844 [accident report]. Ed. April 2, 1844 by Board of Trade
7. ↑ Railways Archive - Accidents Archive : Excerpt from the accident report by Major General CW Pasley v. October 10, 1844
8. ^ Accident at Tonbridge in the Railways Archive
9. ↑ NN: Frightful Accident on the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway . In: Illustrated London News v. May 29, 1847
10. ^ NN: Disaster on the Chester Cup Excursion, 1851 . In: Cheshire Magazine
11. ↑ HW Tyler: Report on the collision of an excursion train with a light engine at Croydon in 1854 BC September 14, 1854, Ed .: Board of Trade .
12. ^ Railways Archive - Accidents Archive
13. ↑ Captain HW Tyler: Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Railway (accident report of October 16, 1858), p. 110
14. ^ W. Yolland: Accident at Helmshore on September 4th, 1860 . [Official accident investigation report] v. October 3, 1860
15. ↑ Patrick Kingston: Royal Trains . London 1985. ISBN 0-7153-8594-1 , p. 21
16. ↑ NN: Death In The Tunnel . The Times , Aug 25, 1861, p. 10
17. ↑ Colonel the Pioneers William Yolland : Accident Report. (PDF) Board of Trade Report , 1861, p. 76 , accessed on March 19, 2019 (English). 
18. ^ NN: Winchburgh Railway Disaster. P. 9
19. ↑ accident report
20. ^ Official investigation report of the Captain of the Pioneers Rich. (PDF; 480 kB)
21. ^ Lionel Thomas Caswell Rolt : Red for Danger . Edition: London 1978, p. 51
22. ^ W. Yolland: Accident report to the Board of Trade
23. ^ LTC Rolt: Red for Danger . 4th ed. Newton Abbot 1982. ISBN 0-7153-8362-0 , pp. 181-184
24. ^ Accident report in the Railways Archive
25. ^ Contemporary report in the Illustrated London News of September 19, 1874
26. ^ Railways Archive, including investigation report
27. ^ Lionel Thomas Caswell Rolt : Red for Danger . Edition: London 1978. ISBN 0-330-25555-X , pp. 95-104
28. ^ Accident report in the Railways Archive
29. ^ Oswald Stevens Nock : Historic Railway Disasters . 3rd ed. London 1983, pp. 15-19. ISBN 0-7110-0109-X
30. ↑ JRL Currie: The Runaway Train - Armagh 1889 . David & Charles 1971. ISBN 0-7153-5198-2
31. ^ Paul Bolger: Liverpool Overhead Railway & Dingle Station . On: Subterranea Britannica.
32. ^ NN: Hall Road Desaster - Lessons of an Electric Train Smash . In: Evening Express and Evening Mail v. October 16, 1905, p. 4
33. ^ Norman Pattenden: Salisbury 1906 - An answer to the enigma? . Swindon 2001. ISBN 0-9503741-6-4
34. ^ Ludwig Ritter von Stockert : Railway accidents. A contribution to railway operations theory. , Vol. 1. Leipzig 1913, p. 176, No. 39
35. ^ Oswald Stevens Nock : Historic Railway Disasters. 2nd Edition. London 1980, ISBN 0-09-907720-5 , pp. 107-118
36. ↑ The Railways Archive , Official Accident Report Abermule (PDF; 1.5 MB)
37. ↑ John Wallace Pringle: Report on the Accident at Darlington on 27th June 1928 (pdf)
38. ^ Peter WB Semmens: Catastrophes on rails. A worldwide documentation. Transpress, Stuttgart 1996, pp. 93 f., ISBN 3-344-71030-3
39. ↑ Ascanio Schneider u. Armin Masé: Disasters on the rails. Railway accidents, their causes and consequences . Zurich 1968, pp. 91–95
40. ^ R. Dundas Duncan: Belfast and County Down Railway . Ed .: Ministry of Commerce 1945. (Official accident investigation report)
41. ↑ accident report . In: Railways Archive
42. ^ Investigation report of the Ministry of Transport
43. ^ Ministry of Transport (ed.): Report on the Collision near South Croydon Junction (PDF; 662 kB). 1947
44. ^ AC Trench: Report on the Derailment that occurred on October 26th, 1947, at Goswick on the London and North Eastern Railway . (Ministry of Transport Official Accident Investigation Report - Summary). In: Railways Archive
45. ^ Ministry of Transport (ed.): Report on the collision which occurred on the 17th of April 1948, at Winsford in the London Midland Region (British Railways) (PDF; 604 kB). London 1948 [official investigation report]
46. ↑ Patrick Kingston: Royal Trains . London 1985. ISBN 0-7153-8594-1 , p. 95.
47. ^ Ministry of Transport: Report on the collision which occurred on 4th December 1957 at Harrow at St Johns station, Lewisham . London 1958 (PDF; 2.2 MB)
48. ^ LTC Rolt : Red for Danger . Pan Books 1976, chapter 12
49. ↑ Hither Green rail crash , BBC News online "On this day"
50. ^ McNaughton: Railway Accident - Report on the Accident that occurred on the 28th February 1975 at Moorgate Station on the Northern Line - London Transport Railways (official investigation report, also contains photos of the accident, of the situation on the platform and in the stump tunnel after the accident and a track plan sketch of the station; PDF; 1.5 MB). Ed .: Department of the Environment. 1976
51. ^ CAIN Web Service: A Chronology of the Conflict - 1980
52. ↑ Desmond Fennell OBE QC: Investigation into the King's Cross Underground Fire . Ed .: Department for Transport , London 1988
53. ^ Anthony Hidden: Investigation of the Clapham Junction Railway Accident . Ed .: Department of Transport, London 1989 (PDF; 7.9 MB), p. 5
54. ↑ Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry 1 ( Memento of March 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) = Part 1 of the investigation: description of the accident, its investigation, conclusions and recommendations (PDF, 3 MB)
55. ↑ Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry 2 = Part 2 of the investigation = Part 2 of the investigation: Rail safety management and regulations (PDF, 1.3 MB)
56. ↑ Four bombs in 50 minutes - Britain suffers its worst-ever terror attack. In: The Guardian , July 8, 2005, accessed April 4, 2012