Great Western Coffee Shop

Published
18 November 2021

At 06:09 hrs on 21 October 2021, the 05:23 hrs Great Western Railway passenger service from London Paddington to Swansea struck an engineering trolley left on the line near Challow in Oxfordshire. The train was travelling at 123 mph (198 km/h) at the time of the collision.

The train came to a stand around 1.5 miles beyond the point of collision. There were no injuries among the passengers on board and the train did not derail. However, the handle of the trolley became wedged under the leading bogie of the train while the trolley itself caused some damage to the train’s underframe. The collision resulted in minor damage to the track, while the trolley appears to have been destroyed by the impact.

The train involved in the collision was the first train to pass through the area after the track was handed back following engineering work which had taken place during the previous night. RAIB’s preliminary examination found that the trolley had been inadvertently left on the railway line following this work, which had taken place within a possession.

Our investigation will seek to identify the sequence of events that led to the collision. It will also consider:

the processes in place for managing vehicles such as trolleys within possessions

the training, competence and management oversight of the staff involved and any factors that may have influenced their actions

any relevant underlying factors.

Our investigation will also consider a similar incident which took place at 05:55 hrs on 8 September 2021, when a passenger train travelling between Staines and London Waterloo struck an engineering trolley on the approach to Twickenham station. This trolley had also been left on the line following overnight engineering work. RAIB no longer intends to publish a separate safety digest concerning this incident.

A train that smashed into an abandoned work trolley at 123mph should not have travelled so fast to a station afterwards, investigators have said.

The Great Western Railway (GWR) train dragged it for a mile (1.6km) near Challow, Oxfordshire, in October 2021.

No passengers were injured. The train was damaged but did not derail.

However, investigators said it was later driven at 85mph when it should not have been driven faster than 40mph given its damage.

The London Paddington to Swansea service stopped after it hit the trolley used by workers at 06:09 BST on 21 October.

Network Rail and Hitachi Rail engineers inspected the train and it departed for Swindon, where it terminated, at 08:53. From there, it went empty to the North Pole depot in London.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) recommended red lights should be fixed to trolleys on both sides so they can be seen.

It found Network Rail workers failed to correctly follow processes to allow trains to run after overnight work.

It said workers should follow clearer processes and potentially use technology to ensure lines are cleared.

The trolley's handle became lodged underneath the train, causing damage to the underframe, while the track suffered minor damage. The trolley was destroyed.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "We can never afford to be complacent when it comes to the safety of our passengers, colleagues and the general public and thankfully, no one was injured, but this incident should never have happened.

"We are sorry to all passengers and colleagues who were impacted by this incident."

Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents Andrew Hall said: "Systems and processes designed to detect any equipment left on the track before lines reopen after maintenance work should not be reliant solely on human performance in the middle of a dark night.

"There are technological solutions which can assist with addressing this issue and this accident is an example of an opportunity missed."