Unexpected diversion 28 September 2015

[whole diary]

[Oberon]

I think this incident occurred to the train preceding the one I was preparing to catch to Bristol from Bath yesterday morning. It pulled into Bath's number one platform on time, then waited..and waited. There were no on-train announcements saying anything was wrong (thanks GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) but outside I could see several members of staff and policemen chatting. I asked what the hold up was and eventually got out of one of the railway staff there had been a fatality ahead. I suppose we'll have to wait for a coroner's verdict to determine the cause of death.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Bristol Post:

Post-mortem results into 'unexplained' Saltford death expected today


Post-mortem results into 'unexplained' Saltford death expected today

A post mortem is expected to take place into the unexplained death of a man near Saltford.

Police spent yesterday scouring the railway line after a body was found on the footpath off the Bath Road.

The man's identity remains a mystery and detectives are waiting for the forensic results before deciding whether foul play was involved.

The body was found by a member of the public at 8.30am on Monday.

Officers are currently treating his death as unexplained and enquiries are ongoing to identify him and trace his next of kin.

Results of the post-mortem which hope to determine a cause of death are expected today.

Trains between Bristol Temple Meads and Bath were cancelled for most of the day on Monday as officers carried out searches of the area.

The body was thought to be found in a field next Stothert and Pitt Rugby Football Club and the railway track, about a mile out of Saltford towards Bath.

A section of the shrub land remains cordoned off this morning and police are still on scene.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 101 quoting log number 150 of September 28.

[BerkshireBugsy]

08.50 a Member of public reported a body near the line, all trains on stop BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains)-BTH^» (Bath Spa - next trains)
09.03 BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) in attendance and trains under caution
09.12 BTP advised the body was far enough away from the line to allow trains to run normally
15.00 - 16.00 up line closed due to forensic search

So the decision to divert the 09.00 would have been taken before BTP declared the line could open.

I'm not an expert in the geography of the area but I was say 13 minutes is a pretty good response time

[brizzlechris]

An update from Avon and Somerset Police:

The death of a man whose body was found near Saltford on Monday is not being treated as suspicious.

A formal identification procedure has not yet been carried out but we believe we^ve identified the man as a 41-year-old man from the Hertfordshire area.

https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/newsroom/appeal-for-information-after-body-of-man-found-in-saltford/body-found-near-saltford-not-being-treated-as-suspicious/

[TonyK]

I'm not an expert in the geography of the area but I was say 13 minutes is a pretty good response time

So would I, especially as it was BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) rather than Avon & Somerset. They would have been unlikely to have had anyone patrolling nearby. I would also say that 7 to 8 minutes was pretty good for replanning an intercity train journey.

[ChrisB]

Don't BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) have a base at Bath station? So not very far to travel, maybe on a train out of service (that HST^▸ (High Speed Train) in the photo?)

[Chris from Nailsea]

More likely in a car with twos and blues, up the A4?

[TonyK]

More likely in a car with twos and blues, up the A4?

Much the more likely mode of transport! Not bad from a standing start from watching for terrorist activity on P1 at BTH^» (Bath Spa - next trains).