The
Rail
Accident
Investigation
Branch


has
made
its
first
statement
about
Monday
evening’s
head-on
collision
at
Talerddig,
in
which
one
man
was
killed
and
15
other
passengers
injured.

RAIB
inspectors
have
been
gathering
evidence
in
a
bid
to
discover
how
the
two
passenger
trains
came
to
meet
on
a
single
line
section,
about
800m
west
of
the
passing
loop
at
Talerdigg.
The
down
train,
which
apparently
ran
through
the
loop
without
stopping,
was
the
18.31
Transport
for
Wales
service
from
Shrewsbury
to
Aberystwyth.

The
up
train
involved
was
the
19:09
from
Machynlleth
to
Shrewsbury,
also
operated
by
TfW.

The
RAIB
says
initial
evidence
suggests
that
the
collision
occurred
at
approximately
24
km/h.
Four
of
the
15
injured
passengers
are
now
known
to
have
been
seriously
hurt.

The
information
from
the
down
train’s
data
recorder
has
been
downloaded.
The
track
has
been
inspected,
witnesses
interviewed
and
data
from
radio
and
signalling
systems
analysed.

The
RAIB’s
initial
inspection
of
the
track
near
the
collision
point
has
found
that
wheel
and
rail
adhesion
was
‘relatively
low’,
suggesting
that
the
train
may
have
been
affected
by
wheel
slide
when
the
driver
applied
the
brakes
to
stop
in
the
loop.

The
RAIB
said
it
will
be
issuing
a
further
update
soon.
The
Office
of
Rail
and
Road
has
confirmed
that
HMRI
inspectors
are
also
at
the
scene.

Meanwhile,
a
passenger
on
the
down
train
told
the
BBC
yesterday
that
the
driver
had
tried
to
stop
but
the
train
still
kept
moving,
which
supports
the
RAIB’s
suggestion
that
the
wheels
had
lost
at
least
some
of
their
grip
on
the
rails.

Welsh
cabinet
transport
secretary
Ken
Skates
said:
‘I
am
extremely
grateful
to
the
emergency
services
who
attended
the
scene
and
helped
our
passengers
and
staff.

‘The
safety
of
our
passengers
and
staff
is,
as
always,
our
key
priority.
Transport
for
Wales
are
working
closely
with
all
agencies,
including
emergency
services
and
Rail
Accident
Investigation
Branch,
to
understand
how
this
incident
happened,
and
they
will
have
my
full
support.’