Newton Rail Crash | |
---|---|
Details | |
Date | 21 July 1991 |
Location | near Newton, South Lanarkshire |
Country | Scotland |
Line | Argyle Line/Cathcart Circle Line Strathclyde Passenger Transport (West Coast Main Line) |
Cause | SPAD, inadequate junction layout |
Statistics | |
Trains | 2 |
Deaths | 4 |
Injured | 22 |
List of UK rail accidents by year |
On 21 July 1991, two commuter trains crashed just west of Newton railway station in Cambuslang, near Glasgow, Scotland. The junction had been remodelled in the month previous to the crash.
At 21.55, train 2P55, the 21:55 Newton-Glasgow Central Cathcart Circle service, a British Rail Class 303 unit driven by Reginald McEwan left the "down" platform at Newton. Meanwhile, train 2J66, the 20:55 Balloch-Motherwell service, a Class 314 unit driven by David Scott was crossing from the fast West Coast Main Line tracks through a single-lead junction to enter the "up" platform. The two trains collided head on at the junction, killing both drivers and two passengers and injuring 22. The Class 303 unit overrode the buffer unit of the Class 314 unit and the trains telescoped over one another. [1] The leading coach of the Class 314 was completely destroyed (being cut up at the site) later replaced by a redundant Class 507 driving motor vehicle. [2]
People who lived in the area near to the crash described hearing something that sounded "like an explosion" and soon 400 people had gathered at the crash site. One local ran to Newton to telephone the signaller on duty and had asked him to turn the overhead wires off as he had feared for the safety of everyone. [3]
A report into the accident was commissioned by British Rail, which started on 23 July 1991 [4] and reported to the Health and Safety Executive, who published a report in November 1992. A separate fatal accident inquiry team, composed of the Sheriff's court of Glasgow, were taken to the crash site by train in February 1993. They rode in train from the low level platform at Glasgow Central to the crash site at Newton and they were then bussed to the signalling centre which controlled the points and lights at Newton at the time of the crash. [5]
The accident was attributed to the Cathcart Circle train passing a signal at danger and causing a collision at the single-lead junction, as at Bellgrove in Glasgow just over a year earlier. The junction's configuration was newly installed at a cost of £5 million and designed to be simpler than the double-lead junction that it replaced. [6] This allowed faster running on the WCML following the East Coast electrification (through Carstairs) but was inherently less safe. The configuration was unnecessarily constrained and was strongly criticised in the accident report [7] and by contemporary commentators (Hall 1999).
Following the accident the junction was closed, with a special timetable in place for several months while the layout was revised to provide double track from the platforms towards Kirkhill. Diversions included West Coast Main Line trains being diverted via the Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway and Whifflet with electric trains hauled by diesel locomotives to Mossend Yard, East Coast Main Line trains terminating at Edinburgh Waverley, and Lanark and Motherwell trains being diverted along the North Clyde Line via the Whifflet link line immediately west of Coatbridge Sunnyside.
After the accident, the track that had been removed was replaced immediately [6] and it remains there to this day. [8]
Glasgow Central is one of two principal mainline rail terminals in Glasgow, Scotland. The railway station was opened by the Caledonian Railway on 1 August 1879 and is one of 20 managed by Network Rail. It is the northern terminus of the West Coast Main Line. As well as being Glasgow's principal inter-city terminus for services to England, Central also serves the southern suburbs of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, as well as the Ayrshire and Clyde coasts. The other main station in Glasgow is Glasgow Queen Street.
The North Clyde Line is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail Trains. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathgate rail link and the Edinburgh–Bathgate line, this route has become the fourth rail link between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. The line serves the commercial and shopping districts of Glasgow's central area, and connects towns from West Dunbartonshire to South Lanarkshire. Named for Glasgow's Argyle Street, the line uses the earlier cut-and-cover tunnel running beneath that thoroughfare.
The Whifflet Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network in Scotland.
Whifflet railway station is located in the Whifflet area of Coatbridge. Train services are provided by ScotRail. Until December 2014, it was the terminal station on the Whifflet Line, since when it is served by Argyle Line services.
The British Rail Class 320 is an electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger train found on the Strathclyde rail network in Central Scotland. They are mainly used on the North Clyde Line and the Argyle Line, but they can also be seen on Glasgow Central to Lanark and Cathcart Circle and Inverclyde Line services. The Class 320 uses alternating current (AC) overhead electrification.
The Motherwell–Cumbernauld line is a suburban railway line linking Motherwell and Cumbernauld in Scotland. It is part of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport network.
The Cathcart Circle Lines form a mostly suburban railway route linking Glasgow (Central) to Cathcart via a circular line, with branches to Newton and Neilston, on the south bank of the River Clyde. They are part of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport network.
The British Rail Class 318 is an electric multiple-unit (EMU) passenger train which operates in west central Scotland. The units were introduced on 29 September 1986 as part of the electrification of the Ayrshire Coast Line between Glasgow Central and Ayr/Ardrossan with alternating current (AC) overhead lines. Their use was extended to Largs in January 1987. They were also used on the Inverclyde Line in small numbers. The trains currently operate Argyle Line, Cathcart Circle Line, North Clyde Line, Whifflet Line and Inverclyde Line services. Following the withdrawal of the Class 314 fleet in 2019, these units are the oldest working EMUs in Scotland, having been in revenue-earning service for more than 36 years.
Cathcart railway station is a railway station serving the Cathcart area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is located on the Cathcart Circle Line, 3.7 miles (6 km) south of Glasgow Central. Services are provided by ScotRail on behalf of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.
Newton railway station is a railway station located between the neighbourhoods of Drumsagard, Halfway, Newton and Westburn in the town of Cambuslang, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail on the Argyle and Cathcart Circle Lines.
Carmyle railway station is located in the Carmyle area of Glasgow. It is on the Whifflet Line, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of Glasgow Central railway station. Train services are provided by ScotRail Trains.
Coatbridge Sunnyside railway station serves the town of Coatbridge in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The railway station is managed by ScotRail and is located on the North Clyde Line, 9 miles (14 km) east of Glasgow Queen Street.
Muirend railway station is an island platform suburban railway station in the Muirend area of Glasgow, Scotland. The station, which opened in 1903, is managed by ScotRail and lies on the Neilston branch of the Cathcart Circle Lines.
Two rail accidents have occurred near Castlecary, Scotland. One of these was in 1937 and one in 1968. Both events involved rear-end collisions, and caused the deaths of 35 and 2 people respectively.
On 6 March 1989, two Class 303 commuter trains crashed on the Springburn branch of the North Clyde Line, just east of Bellgrove station in the East End of Glasgow, Scotland. Driver Mr. Hugh Kennan, aged 62 of Maryhill, and passenger Mr. Robert McCaffrey, aged 58, a retired rail worker from Scotstoun, died in the crash and 53 people were injured.
The Paisley Gilmour Street rail accident occurred on 16 April 1979 at 19:50. The 19:40 Inverclyde Line service from Glasgow Central to Wemyss Bay, operated by two Class 303 trains, crossed from the Down Fast Line to the Down Gourock Line under clear signals at Wallneuk Junction immediately to the east of Paisley Gilmour Street railway station. It collided head-on with the 18:58 Ayrshire Coast Line special service from Ayr to Glasgow Central, formed of two Class 126 diesel multiple units, which had left Platform 2 against a red signal P31.
The Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway was a railway line in Scotland built by the Caledonian Railway to shorten the route from the Coatbridge area to Glasgow. It opened in 1865. It was later extended to Airdrie in 1886, competing with the rival North British Railway. Soon after a further extension was built from Airdrie to Calderbank and Newhouse.
The British Rail Class 380 Desiro is a type of electric multiple-unit passenger train that operates on the National Rail network in Scotland, for ScotRail.
The Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Railway was a railway company in Scotland, built to serve coal and ironstone pits in the Hamilton and Bothwell areas, and convey the mineral to Glasgow and to ironworks in the Coatbridge area. It was allied to the North British Railway, and it opened in 1877. Passenger services followed.
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