Train hits car, derails, killing 6 in Britain

By Seattle Times news services

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LONDON — A passenger train slammed into a car at a railroad crossing west of London yesterday, killing six people and injuring 36 others, officials said.

Ambulance spokesmen said 11 people were seriously injured and that there were about a hundred "walking wounded" from the train, which carried about 300 passengers, some of whom were trapped for hours.

The high-speed passenger train, bound from London's Paddington Station to Plymouth in southwest England, slammed into a vehicle at a crossing at Ufton Nervet near Reading, 36 miles west of London.

Andy Trotter, deputy chief constable of the British Transport Police, said at the scene that all eight cars of the train derailed, and most had tipped over.

"There was a big jolt, the train sped up and then turned on its side," said passenger Harriet Myles, 19.

"I could hear people screaming and glass breaking. We stayed put for a while. It was so dark we could not move," she said.

"I was incredibly lucky, because the carriage I was in didn't actually go over on its side — the one in front did and the one behind did," said Jonny Saunders, a British Broadcasting Corp. reporter who was a passenger. "I tried to get the hammer to break the glass, and managed to eventually get out."

Network Rail, the company responsible for maintaining the national rail infrastructure, said the crossing had automatic barriers that blocked one lane on each side of the road.

There was no indication that infrastructure failure or railway staff were responsible for the crash. Crashes blamed on shoddy maintenance and poor driver training have killed 42 people in the past five years.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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