Railway accident news
29/11/2010

Runaway train passengers avoid railway accident

A railway accident investigation has begun into an incident in East Sussex after a passenger train travelling at 65mph overshot a station and could not stop for over two miles.

Although no one suffered a personal injury in what the investigators described as a "serious incident", the reasons for a potential train crash will be thoroughly examined.

These will include servicing and maintenance of the rail head sanding equipment and information supplied to the driver. It is possible that wet leaves on the line may have caused the London to Hastings train to slide rather than stopping at Stonegate station as scheduled when the driver attempted to brake.

The runaway train, operated by Southeastern, went through a level crossing where fortuitously the gates were down and there were no red signals on its route.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch will compile a report and make any recommendations to avoid the risk of a similar accident in the future.

If anybody had suffered death or serious personal injury as a result of the actions or negligence of the railway company or its employees, they may well have been entitled to make a claim for compensation through a no win, no fee solicitor.