The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA) for the United Kingdom. The AAIB is a branch of the Department for Transport and is based in the grounds of Farnborough Airport, Hampshire.
The Ufton Nervet rail crash occurred on 6 November 2004 when a passenger train collided with a stationary car on a level crossing on the Reading–Taunton line near Ufton Nervet, Berkshire, England. The collision derailed the train, and seven people—including the drivers of the train and the car—were killed. An inquest found that all railway personnel and systems were operating correctly, and the crash was caused by the suicide of the car driver.
The Multiple-purpose Vehicle or MPV is a purpose-built departmental derivative of a diesel multiple unit. Twenty-five two-car units were ordered by Railtrack to enable it to replace its varied collection of ageing departmental vehicles, many of which were converted from redundant passenger stock.
The British Rail Class 222 Meridian is a group of 5- or 7- car diesel-electric multiple-unit high-speed passenger train capable of 125 mph (200 km/h). Twenty-seven sets were built by Bombardier Transportation in Bruges, Belgium.
The Cambrian Line, sometimes split into the Cambrian Main Line and Cambrian Coast Line for its branches, is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury, England, westwards to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail between the western terminals of Pwllheli, in Gwynedd, and Aberystwyth, in Ceredigion, and the eastern terminal at Shrewsbury, Shropshire, as part of the Wales & Borders franchise. The railway line is widely regarded as scenic, as it passes through the Cambrian Mountains in central Wales, and along the coast of Cardigan Bay in Snowdonia National Park.
Kirkby railway station is situated in Kirkby, Merseyside, England. It is located 7.5 miles (12 km) north-east of Liverpool Central and is on the Headbolt Lane branch of Merseyrail's Northern Line.
Mendip Rail Ltd is an independent freight operating railway company in Great Britain. It is a joint venture composed of the rail-operation divisions of Aggregate Industries and Hanson Aggregates.
The Grayrigg derailment was a fatal railway accident that occurred at approximately 20:15 GMT on 23 February 2007, just to the south of Grayrigg, Cumbria, in the North West England region of the United Kingdom. The accident investigation concluded that the derailment was caused by a faulty set of points on the Down Main running line, controlled from Lambrigg ground frame. The scheduled inspection on 18 February 2007 had not taken place and the faults had gone undetected.
A tram accident is any accident involving a tram or tram system.
The Little Cornard derailment occurred on 17 August 2010 when a passenger train collided with a road vehicle on a level crossing on the Gainsborough Line near Little Cornard, Suffolk, and partly derailed. The vehicle, a tanker lorry, had begun crossing over the track when the Class 156 train from Sudbury destined for Marks Tey struck it whilst travelling at a speed of approximately 40 miles per hour (64 km/h).
On 9 November 2016, a tram operated by Tramlink in London derailed and overturned on a sharp bend approaching a junction. Of 69 passengers, there were seven fatalities and 62 injured, 19 of whom sustained serious injuries. This was the first tram incident in the United Kingdom in which passengers died since 1959.
The Stonehaven derailment was a fatal railway accident that occurred at 09:38 BST on 12 August 2020, when a passenger train returning to Aberdeen hit a landslip, near Carmont, west of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, following severe rain. Of the nine people aboard, three were killed, and six were injured.
On 26 August 2020 a freight train carrying diesel fuel and gas oil in tank wagons derailed at Morlais Junction, Llangennech, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Some of the derailed wagons caught fire, leading to an evacuation of people living nearby. There was widespread contamination from the spilled fuel. The clean-up operation was described by Natural Resources Wales as the most challenging since the Sea Empress oil spill in 1996. The accident was caused by defective brakes on a wagon causing an axle to seize, which in turn caused deformation of the track under the train as it travelled over a set of points. The Heart of Wales Line was closed for seven months as a result of the derailment.
The Salisbury Rail Crash was a railway accident on 31 October 2021, at Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom. Two trains, travelling on converging lines, collided at Salisbury Tunnel Junction, approximately one mile northeast of Salisbury railway station. Fourteen people, including one of the train drivers, were taken to hospital.
On 13 March 2021, a Class 507 electric multiple unit operated by Merseyrail collided with the buffer stop at Kirkby railway station, Merseyside, United Kingdom. The only injury was the driver of the train. The cause was found to be that the driver was using a mobile phone whilst driving. The distraction led him to enter the station at excessive speed. He was dismissed from Merseyrail and later prosecuted, pleading guilty to a charge of endangering the safety of people on the railway, for which he received a 12-month suspended sentence.
On 21 October 2024, a passenger train heading westwards from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth on the Cambrian Line in Wales collided head-on with another train heading in the opposite direction on a section of single line approximately 900 m west of the passing loop at Talerddig, Powys. The trains had been scheduled to pass at the loop, but the first train failed to stop. Fifteen people were injured in the crash, and one passenger subsequently died. A preliminary investigation found evidence of low wheel/rail adhesion and that the sanders, which help increase adhesion when braking, may not have been working. A full investigation into the accident is underway.
