Ufton Nervet rail crash

Ufton Nervet rail crash
Details
Date	6 November 2004
Time	18:12
Location	Ufton Nervet, Berkshire
Country	England
Rail line	Reading to Taunton Line
Cause	Collision with car on level crossing
Statistics
Trains	1
Passengers	180–200
Deaths	7
Injuries	71
List of UK rail accidents by year

The Ufton Nervet rail crash was a railway accident between a train and car near Ufton Nervet, Berkshire, England that caused seven deaths.

Collision

On 6 November 2004 at 18:12 GMT, the First Great Western 17:35 service from London Paddington to Plymouth, a High Speed Train (HST) led by a Class 43 power car (43019), collided with a stationary vehicle at an automatic level crossing close to the rural Berkshire village of Ufton Nervet. The inquest concluded that the accident was caused by Brian Drysdale, a chef at the nearby Wokefield Park Hotel, committing suicide by parking his car on the crossing.

The rear of the 220 m (720 ft) long InterCity 125 train came to rest about 100 m (110 yd) beyond the crossing with all eight coaches derailed. Six people were killed in the crash: the car's driver, the driver of the train, and four of its passengers. A fifth passenger subsequently died in hospital. About 200 people were on board at the time of the incident (official estimates are around 180–200). About half of these injured, 12 of them seriously. 11 people were cut free from the wreckage. The high structural integrity of the Mark 3 coaches prevented a much higher death toll,^{[citation needed]} plus the fact that the more lightly loaded first class coaches were at the leading end of the train.

The accident, investigation and necessary repairs blocked the main railway route between London and the West Country until the morning of 16 November, subsequently operating under temporary speed restrictions to allow the bedding in of ballast. In the meantime inter-city trains operated via Swindon and Westbury and local services were replaced by rail and bus shuttles.

Background

Ufton Nervet level crossing

In the United Kingdom, automatic half-barrier level crossings (AHBC) are used on roads where traffic is unlikely to queue across the crossing and where rail line-speed is not more than 100 mph (160 km/h). There are no means of checking that the crossing is not obstructed before the passage of a train. The half barriers close the road to traffic approaching the crossing but allow any trapped vehicle to escape. However, this allows road users to zig zag around the barriers and cross the line, usually in an attempt to save time.

Investigation

An investigation was carried out by Thames Valley Police and the British Transport Police. A preliminary report by the Health and Safety Executive indicated that the car stopped on the level crossing before any warnings and failed to react to the barrier alarm sequence. A minor deflection of the stationary car to one side by the train derailed the forward bogie, which continued to travel at about 25° to the rails until reaching the points at the start of a loop. At this point the power car derailed completely, causing the remainder of the train to derail.

In the absence of information from the investigation, local and news media speculation centred on the theory that Bryan Drysdale, the car's driver, might have parked on the level crossing in order to commit suicide, because there was no evidence of any attempt to move or exit the car.

The Rail Safety and Standards Board published a preliminary report on 1 February 2005 which stated:

• The automatic half-barrier equipment and its associated ancillary equipment is in good condition and properly maintained.
• The train driver shut off power and coasted for around four seconds, which was normal for this point in the journey. He then applied the emergency brakes at or about the time of impact with the car.
• All lighting was lost in all the coaches during the accident. As a result, passengers and crew found orientation difficult, though the provision of glow sticks alleviated this to some extent. Some passengers who attempted to break windows in order to escape from the vehicle were hampered by breakage of the window hammers, and by the difficulty of reaching the upper windows of a vehicle leaning heavily to one side.
• No evidence has been presented that the maintenance condition of the train contributed in any way to the derailment or exacerbated its consequences.
• No evidence has been presented to the inquiry that would indicate there were any deficiencies in the fitness for duty on the part of the staff of either Network Rail or First Great Western.

On 1 June 2005 it was announced that an inquest into the crash would be held at the Guildhall in Windsor, Berkshire. The inquest was expected to last 12 days, starting on 17 October 2005. It had been delayed due to a dispute over whether the families of the victims should be granted legal aid. The inquest finally began in October 2007. A policeman, PC Brazier, witnessed the crash and testified at the inquest. He told the jury that he believed the crash was caused by a suicide attempt. The Forensic Accident Investigator, David Price, told the inquest that he had been able to determine that the car had been parked on the level crossing with its engine switched off, the handbrake fully applied, the vehicle's lights switched off, the steering on a partial left hand lock (which was not consistent with driving across the crossing), and that its fuel tank still contained at least 8 litres (about 2 gallons) of petrol.

On 1 November 2007 the inquest returned the verdict that the accident was caused by Brian Drysdale committing suicide. A support network, the Ufton Nervet Train Crash Network was set up for survivors and relatives of the victims.

List of the deceased

On what would have been his 55th birthday, First Great Western named a Class 43 locomotive after the driver of the train

• Brian Drysdale, 48, of Reading, Berkshire (the car driver)
• Louella Main, 9, of Speen, Berkshire (the daughter of Anjanette Rossi)
• Stanley Martin, 54, of Torquay, Devon (the train driver)
• Charlie Matthews, 72, of Warminster, Wiltshire
• Anjanette Rossi, 38, of Speen, Berkshire (the mother of Louella Main)
• Barry Strevens, 55, of Wells, Somerset
• Emily Webster, 14, of Doccombe, Devon

Location

The accident occurred at a level crossing on the narrow lane linking the village of Ufton Nervet to the Bath Road (A4), about 300 m (330 yd) from their junction. The crossing is between Theale and Aldermaston stations. The train was not scheduled to stop at either station.

Position: grid reference SU616687

2011 near miss

A near miss occurred at the same level crossing on 4 September 2011. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is investigating the cause, which may have been an error or omission by rail staff.

See also

• List of British rail accidents
• Glendale train crash - a crash in January 2005 on the Los Angeles, California commuter rail system in similar circumstances.

References

• BBC reporter eyewitness report – BBC News
• Seven train crash dead are named – BBC News
• Preliminary Coroner's summary - corporateaccountability.org
• Preliminary Health & Safety Exec. Report – PDF
• Rail Safety & Standards Board inquiry – PDF
• First Great Western press release – PDF