On 23 June 1999, a

Virgin Trains Virgin Trains (legal name West Coast Trains Limited) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach Group, Stagecoach, which operated the InterCity West Coast ...

electric express train from

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...

to Glasgow Central, hauled by Class 87 No 87027 ''Wolf of Badenoch'', ran into an empty

First North Western First North Western was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the North West Regional Railways franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. History In the lead up to the privatisation of British Rail, the Nor ...

four-carriage Pacer unit, injuring 27 people. The express had been travelling at about , but driver Roy Eccles noticed the Pacer on the line and was able to decelerate to about at the time of impact. Eccles was awarded a medal for his prompt action, which averted a much more serious accident. The driver of the Pacer train helped passengers from the Glasgow Central train despite his injuries. The Pacer had passed a signal at danger and run through a set of points, coming to a stand on the line on which the express was approaching. Its rear cab was destroyed in the crash along with a section of the passenger accommodation, and the coach bodies were displaced from their underframes. The incident report stated that the accident was most likely to have been human error of the Pacer driver as the investigation showed no faults with either the signalling system or the brakes of the Pacer train. Due to the severe level of damage sustained by the Pacer train, the safety of the units were investigated as part of the inquiry into the accident.

References

{{coord, 53.18501, -2.48963, region:GB, display=title Railway accidents and incidents in Cheshire Railway accidents in 1999 Train collisions in England