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A Report of the Collision that Occurred on 8 January 1991 at Cannon Street Station

Document Summary

The report into the Cannon Street accident, where a train overran the terminus platform and collided with buffer stops.

This document was published on 2nd March 1992 by Health and Safety Executive.

It was written by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate.

This item is linked to the Accident at Cannon Street on 8th January 1991

The original document format was Bound Booklet, and comprised 48 pages.

This document was kindly sourced from Ian Brightmore and is in our Accident reports collection. It was added to the Archive on 2nd September 2005.

Copyright Information

This document is Crown Copyright, and is subject to the terms governing the reproduction of crown copyright material. Depending on the status and age of the original document, you may need an OPSI click-use license if you wish to reproduce this material, and other restrictions may apply. Please see this explanation for further details.

"From the evidence available to me I can find no defect in either the braking or traction system, either permanent or intermittent, which would have prevented brakes from operating effectively. Therefore, I must conclude that [the driver] failed to make the proper brake application and that by his omission he was responsible for the accident. I am unable to reach any firm conclusion as to the reasons for his error or as to whether [the driver]'s use of cannabis was the cause of his omission...

Despite its age the rolling stock had been properly maintained and it did not contribute to the cause of the accident. Nevertheless, its now superseded design did result in more severe damage to the rolling stock and an increase both in the severity and number of injuries. In particular, the overriding of the fifth and sixth coaches occurred because of the inadequacy of the single buffer coupling and the lack of structural strength in the coach bodies."

Timeline:
Safety of Mk1 stock

27th September 1989
Investigation into the Clapham Junction Railway Accident

2nd March 1992
A Report of the Collision that Occurred on 8 January 1991 at Cannon Street Station

31st October 1995
Railway Accident at Cowden: A Report of the Inquiry into the Collision between two Passenger Trains which occurred at Cowden on 15 October 1994...

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