List of accidents and incidents at London King's Cross railway station

Last updated

Since it opened in 1852, there have been a number of accidents at London King's Cross railway station. Accidents occurring at King's Cross St Pancras tube station are not covered.

Contents

1855

On 18 January 1855, the axle of a North British Railway six-wheel carriage broke as the train was passing through Gasworks Tunnel. The cause found to be that the axle was made from defective materials. [1] On 20 August 1855, a passenger train collided with the buffer stops at a speed of 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h) due to driver error. Several passengers sustained slight injuries. [2]

1860

On 30 May 1860, an excursion train collided with the buffer stops. About fourteen people were injured. [3] On 1 November 1860, the boiler of a locomotive exploded. The locomotive formerly belonged to the Eastern Counties Railway and had been named The Albion. It had been sold to a contractor and was being used in the construction of the Metropolitan Railway. The crown plate of the locomotive's firebox was found to be defective. [4] [5] Two people were killed, and three were injured, with one getting a serious injury.

1865

On 2 November 1865, a coal train became divided at the station. The rear portion ran back and ran through the buffer stops. One person was injured. [6]

1873

On 30 October 1873, a passenger train stalled on leaving the station and ran back. The following passenger train collided with it. Several people were injured, one seriously. [7]

1875

On 22 March 1875, a passenger train was derailed entering Gasworks Tunnel. Some passengers were injured. [8]

1878

On 8 January 1878, a freight train became divided. The rear portion ran back and collided with a passenger train. Three people were severely injured. [9]

1881

On 9 April 1881, a passenger train collided with the rear of an empty stock train in Gasworks Tunnel. One person was injured. [10]

On 15 September 1881, a light engine and a coal train collided near the mouth of Copenhagen Tunnel due to a signalman's error. One person was killed and one was severely injured. [11]

1884

On 8 November 1884, an empty stock train collided with a rake of carriages. One person was injured. The driver claimed brake failure as the cause. [12]

1885

On 30 June 1885, a freight train and a passenger train collided at the mouth of Gasworks Tunnel. No injuries were reported. [13]

1893

On 23 December 1893, a passenger train ran into an empty stock train on leaving the station due to a signalman's error. Two people were injured. [14]

1896

On 22 July 1896, a passenger train was derailed when leaving the station. One carriage overturned. Twenty people were injured; two people suffered broken arms. [15]

1897

On 10 March 1897, an excursion train collided with the buffer stops. [16] Twelve people were injured. [17]

1901

On 28 December 1901, a passenger train and a freight train collided due to a signal displaying a false clear indication, having failed to return to danger when commanded. Five people were injured. [18]

1932

On 12 July 1932, a London and North Eastern Railway passenger train ran back in a tunnel and was derailed by catch points, fouling an adjacent line. A London, Midland and Scottish Railway freight train then collided with the derailed carriages and was also derailed. There were no injuries. [19]

1945

On 4 February 1945, a passenger train to Leeds and Bradford stalled in Gasworks Tunnel, ran back and was derailed in the station. Two people were killed and 25 were injured. Services were not fully restored to the station until 23 February. [20] [21]

2003

On 16 September 2003, a passenger train was derailed due to a signalman's error, compounded by a maintenance error. There were no injuries. [22] [23]

2015

On 17 September 2015, a passenger train collided with the buffer stops at platform 11 at a speed of 7.5 miles per hour (12.1 km/h). The train was operated by Class 317 electric multiple unit No. 317 346. Fourteen passengers were injured. [24] [25]

2017

On 15 August 2017, a passenger train operated by a Class 387 electric multiple unit collided with the buffer stops on platform 9. Two passengers were injured. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London, Midland and Scottish Railway</span> British railway company (1923–1947)

The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railways into four. The companies merged into the LMS included the London and North Western Railway, the Midland Railway, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, several Scottish railway companies, and numerous other, smaller ventures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London and North Eastern Railway</span> British "Big 4" railway company, active 1923–1947

The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At that time, it was divided into the new British Railways' Eastern Region, North Eastern Region, and partially the Scottish Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart of Wessex Line</span> Railway line in England

The Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth Line, is a railway line that runs from Bristol Temple Meads to Westbury and Weymouth in England. It shares the Wessex Main Line as far as Westbury and then follows the course of the Reading to Taunton Line as far as Castle Cary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffer stop</span> Device to stop trains at end of track

A buffer stop, bumper, bumping post, bumper block or stopblock (US), is a device to prevent railway vehicles from going past the end of a physical section of track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings Langley railway station</span>

Kings Langley railway station is almost under the M25 motorway near Junction 20. It serves the village of Kings Langley, and the nearby villages of Abbots Langley and Hunton Bridge. The station is 21 miles (34 km) north west of London Euston on the West Coast Main Line. The station and all services calling at the station are operated by London Northwestern Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preston railway station</span> Grade II listed railway station in Preston, England

Preston railway station in Preston, Lancashire, England, is an interchange railway station on the West Coast Main Line, half-way between London Euston and Glasgow Central. It is served by Avanti West Coast, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express services, plus Caledonian Sleeper overnight services between London and Scotland. It is also served by the Calder Valley line to Leeds and York, and by branch lines to Blackpool, Ormskirk, and Colne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penistone rail accidents</span> List of rail accidents in Penistone South Yorkshire, England

Over the latter years of the 19th and early years of the 20th centuries, Penistone in Yorkshire gained a name as an accident black-spot on Britain's railway network; indeed, it could be said to hold the title of the worst accident black-spot in the country. The main line through the town was the Woodhead route of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway between Sheffield Victoria and Manchester, London Road. The line was heavily graded with a summit some 400 yards inside the eastern portal of the Woodhead tunnel.

There have been a number of train accidents on the railway network of Victoria, Australia. Some of these are listed below.

The railways of New South Wales, Australia have had many incidents and accidents since their formation in 1831. There are close to 1000 names associated with rail-related deaths in NSW on the walls of the Australian Railway Monument in Werris Creek. Those killed were all employees of various NSW railways. The details below include deaths of employees and the general public.

References

  1. ↑ "Accident in the King's Cross Tunnel" (PDF). Board of Trade. 15 March 1855. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "Accident to a train at Kings Cross Station" (PDF). Board of Trade. 1 September 1855. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "Extraordinary accident at the Great Northern terminus". Bradford Observer. No. 1376. 31 May 1860. p. 4.
  4. ↑ "Metropolitan Railway" (PDF). Board of Trade. 3 November 1860. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  5. ↑ "Explosion of a Locomotive at King's Cross". The Morning Post. No. 27107. London. 2 November 1860.
  6. ↑ "Extraordinary accident on the Great Northern Railway". The Standard. No. 12867. London. 3 November 1865. p. 7.
  7. ↑ "Railway accidents". Bradford Observer. No. 3383. 31 October 1873. p. 4.
  8. ↑ "Railway accident at King's Cross". No. 5882. Sheffield: Sheffield and Rotherham Independent. 23 March 1875. p. 7.
  9. ↑ "Shocking railway collision". Dundee Courier and Argus. No. 7633. 9 January 1878. p. 4.
  10. ↑ "Railway collision in a tunnel". Dundee Courier and Argus. No. 8651. 11 April 1881. p. 3.
  11. ↑ "Inquests". The Times. No. 30305. London. 21 September 1881. col D, p. 10.
  12. ↑ "Collision at King's Cross". The York Herald. No. 10438. 10 November 1884. p. 5.
  13. ↑ "Railway collision". Dundee Courier and Argus. No. 9974. 1 July 1885. p. 3.
  14. ↑ "Railway collision at King's-Cross". The Morning Post. No. 37921. London. 25 December 1893. p. 3.
  15. ↑ "A railway carriage overturned". North-Eastern Daily Gazette. middlesbrough. 23 July 1896. p. 4.
  16. ↑ "Extract for the Accident at Kings Cross on 10th March 1897". Railways Archive. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  17. ↑ "Accident at Kings Cross on 10th March 1897". Railways Archive. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "Great Northern Railway" (PDF). Board of Trade. 28 January 1902. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  19. ↑ "Metropolitan Railway" (PDF). Ministry of Transport. 5 October 1932. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  20. ↑ "Report on the Accident at King's Cross on 4th February 1945". Railways Archive. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  21. ↑ Jackson, Alan A. (1984) [1969]. London's Termini. London: David & Charles. p. 93. ISBN   0-330-02747-6.
  22. ↑ "Kings Cross Report and Recommendations". Railways Archive. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  23. ↑ Clark, Andrew (17 September 2003). "Track firm Jarvis admits blunder after train is derailed". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Ltd. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  24. ↑ "Govia Thameslink King's Cross rail crash: Five hurt". BBC News. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  25. ↑ "Collision with buffer stops at King's Cross 17 September 2015" (PDF). Rail Accident Investigation Branch. 4 August 2016.
  26. ↑ Perring, Rebecca (15 August 2017). "King's Cross station chaos as train smashes into railway buffers - two injured". Daily Express. Express Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.