AN INVESTIGATION has been launched into a train crash in Bromsgrove last month where a locomotive derailed and was then struck by a passenger train.
The probe will be carried out by the Railway Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) following the incident.
At 10.43pm on March 23, a three-coach class 170 passenger train operating between Cardiff Central and Birmingham New Street collided with the class 66 locomotive that had become derailed at the end of a siding.
The passenger train suffered significant damage along the side of all three vehicles, although it remained on the track and did not derail.
There were four passengers and two crew members on board the passenger train and none reported any injuries.
The locomotive had just travelled from Bescot to Bromsgrove, to act as a banking locomotive, needed to assist heavy freight trains up the 1 in 37 Lickey incline to the north of the station.
It derailed as it ran through the buffers at the end of the siding adjacent to the mainline, and stopped with its front left corner foul of northbound trains.
The driver of the locomotive was not injured in the collision, although the locomotive suffered damage to the corner of the leading cab.
A statement from the RAIB said: “Our investigation will identify the sequence of events which led to the accident.
“It will also consider any factors relevant to operation of the locomotive, how the risk of overrun within the siding was controlled and any relevant underlying factors.
“Our investigation is independent of any investigation by the railway industry or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.
“We will publish our findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of our investigation.”
