West Coast Main Line Re-opens After Bletchley Accident

The disruption, following the Bletchley derailment, to the West Coast Main Line ended with resumption of services on Monday February 6.

Normal Working Resumes

The class 90 which derailed on the 15mph crossover at Bletchley in the early hours of Feb 3rd caused massive delays and cancellations as we have reported. Trains continued to use the slow lines past the affected area at Bletchley until Sunday February 5th.

Motorway Closed in Milton Keynes as well!

The M1 motorway was closed in both directions on February the 5th due to jacknifed lorries and minor accidents with heavy traffic being diverted off at the Milton Keynes and Northampton Junctions. So it was not a great travel weekend in the north Bucks area!

Investigations

All four tracks were open for the start of services on Monday February 6 and the locomotive was taken away under cover of darkness on the night of Feb 4/5th to an undisclosed location.

The Rail Accident and Investigation Board will be investigating the condition of the locomotive, downloading the on-board ‘black box’ which will establish the speed and other operating facts which could point to the cause of the accident.

The crossover had a maximum speed limit of 15mph and the condition of the track, switch and crossings will be investigated as well as the weather conditions at the time. The crossover was due to be decommissioned in 11 months’ time and replaced by a higher speed one to help train running on the busiest section of the West Coast main Line.

RAIB in due course will announce their findings although this is likely to take some time, maybe six months or so.

External Links

• raib