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Derailment of First Great Western high speed train at Southall East on Sunday 24 November 2002

Document Summary

The interim report into the derailment of an express passenger train at Southall in 2002.

This document was published in April 2006 by Health and Safety Executive.

It was written by Health and Safety Executive.

This item is linked to the Accident at Southall East on 24th November 2002

The original document format was PDF File, and comprised 4 pages.The original document can be found here.

This document was kindly sourced from Office of Rail Regulation and is in our Accident reports collection. It was added to the Archive on 21st April 2006.

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.

"At about 20.05, whilst travelling on the up main line between Slough and Paddington and passing over a set of points east of Southall Station at approximately 120mph, the leading bogie of coach D (the fifth coach) derailed towards the down main line.

The driver felt what he described as a 'tug' on the train as if the rear power car had shut down. At about the same time ballast was being thrown up under coach D, which quickly filled with dust, and a Network Rail Mobile Operations Manager working on the lineside at the same location was showered with ballast as the train passed.

A passenger in the coach operated the passenger communication system and the driver, realising that there was an emergency, applied the full service brake. The train finally stopped 200 yards before West Ealing station having passed over a viaduct and through Hanwell & Elthorne station. It had also passed another HST travelling on the down line. A Heathrow Express train following the derailed train passed over the derailment site without incident before being stopped at signals."

Timeline:
Accident at Southall East on 24th November 2002

2003
Southall East Junction Report and Recommendations

April 2006
Derailment of First Great Western high speed train at Southall East on Sunday 24 November 2002

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