On 21 July 1991, two commuter

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

s crashed just west of

Newton railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Newton railway station (geograph 3751384).jpg , borough = Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire , country = Scotland , coordinates = , grid_name = Grid reference , grid_position = , manager = S ...

Cambuslang Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...

, near

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland. The junction had been remodelled in the month previous to the crash.

Accident

At 21.55, 2P55, the 21:55 Newton- Glasgow Central Cathcart Circle service, a

British Rail Class 303 The British Rail Class 303 electric multiple units, also known as "Blue Train" units, were introduced in 1960 for the electrification of the North Clyde and the Cathcart Circle lines in Strathclyde. They were initially classified as AM3 units b ...

driven by Reginald McEwan left the "down" platform at Newton. Meanwhile, 2J66, the 20:55 Balloch-

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

, a Class 314 driven by David Scott was crossing from the fast

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

tracks through a single-lead junction to enter the "up" platform. The two trains collided head on at the junction, killing both drivers and two passengers and injuring 22. The Class 303 unit overrode the buffer unit of the Class 314 unit and the trains telescoped over one another. The leading coach of the Class 314 was completely destroyed (being cut up at the site) later replaced by a redundant Class 507 driving motor vehicle. People who lived in the area near to the crash described hearing something that sounded "like an explosion" and soon 400 people had gathered at the crash site. One local ran to Newton to telephone the signaller on duty and had asked him to turn the overhead wires off as he had feared for the safety of everyone.

Factors

Newton (South Lanarkshire) rail accident

A report into the accident was commissioned by British Rail, which started on 23 July 1991 and reported to the Health and Safety Executive, who published a report in November 1992. A separate fatal accident inquiry team, composed of the Sheriff's court of Glasgow, were taken to the crash site by train in February 1993. They rode in train from the low level platform at Glasgow Central to the crash site at Newton and they were then bussed to the signalling centre which controlled the points and lights at Newton at the time of the crash. The accident was attributed to the Cathcart Circle train passing a signal at danger and causing a collision at the single-lead junction, as at Bellgrove in Glasgow just over a year earlier. The junction's configuration was newly installed at a cost of £5 million and designed to be simpler than the double-lead junction that it replaced. This allowed faster running on the WCML following the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

electrification (through

Carstairs Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is located east of the county town of Lanark and the West Coast Main Line runs through the village. The village is served by Carstairs ra ...

) but was inherently less safe. The configuration was unnecessarily constrained and was strongly criticised in the accident report and by contemporary commentators (Hall 1999).

Aftermath

Following the accident the junction was closed, with a special timetable in place for several months while the layout was revised to provide double track from the platforms towards

Kirkhill Kirkhill or Kirkhills may refer to a number of places. In Canada: * Kirkhill, Nova Scotia * Kirkhill, Ontario, an area of North Glengarry In Northern Ireland: * Kirkhills, a townland in County Antrim In Scotland: *Kirkhill industrial estate, near ...

. Diversions included

trains being diverted via the

Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway The Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway was a railway line in Scotland built by the Caledonian Railway to shorten the route from the Coatbridge area to Glasgow. It opened in 1865. It was later extended to Airdrie in 1886, competing with the riva ...

and

Whifflet Whifflet ( sco, The Whufflit, gd, Magh na Cruithneachd) is now a suburb of Coatbridge, Scotland, which once formed its own distinctive village. It is referred to locally as 'The Whifflet' (and pronounced ''whiff-lit''). Presently located in the N ...

with electric trains hauled by diesel locomotives to Mossend Yard,

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

trains terminating at Edinburgh Waverley, and Lanark and Motherwell trains being diverted along the

North Clyde Line The North Clyde Line (defined by Network Rail as the ''Glasgow North Electric Suburban'' line) is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail Trains. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathgat ...

via the Whifflet link line immediately west of Coatbridge Sunnyside. After the accident, the track that had been removed was replaced immediately and it remains there to this day.

References

Sources

* * *
Railways Archive account and official accident report
{{Railway accidents in the United Kingdom, 1900–1999, state=collapsed Train collisions in Scotland Railway accidents in 1991 1991 in Scotland Transport in South Lanarkshire History of South Lanarkshire Disasters in Glasgow Railway accidents involving a signal passed at danger Accidents and incidents involving Strathclyde Partnership for Transport July 1991 events in the United Kingdom 1991 disasters in the United Kingdom Rail accidents caused by a driver's error 1990s in Glasgow 20th century in South Lanarkshire

Accident

Factors

Aftermath

See also

References

Sources