Salisbury rail crash: Anniversary pledge on leaf-busting trains

Rail firms say they are stepping up their fight against leaves on the line after a crash a year ago involving passenger trains in Salisbury.

Two moving trains collided inside the Fisherton Tunnel on 31 October 2021, with an interim report revealing it was caused by compacted fallen leaves.

Seventeen people were injured, including one of the train drivers.

Network Rail and South Western Railway (SWR) say "leaf-busting" trains will run more regularly this autumn.

In last year's crash, the SWR driver was unable to brake properly for a red signal as compacted leaves on the line had made the rails slippery and the train travelled 626ft (191m) past the signal until it hit the side of a Great Western Railway (GWR) service at a junction.

Isaac Simpson, a passenger on the SWR train, said it was a day he would never forget.

"[I remember] sitting on the train, feeling that braking feeling and then the impact and quite a big judder. Then being on the train for quite a long time, being taken off and walking down the line.

"In a way I have recovered. I didn't really have any other way to get around so I had to get back on to trains. It was scary at first but then it became everyday life again."

He added: "The first journey was quite scary, thinking, 'Is it going to happen again'?

"Every judder was, 'Oh god is it happening again'? You still get a slightly weird feeling when you go past that tunnel junction when you remember this is where the accident happened. That's a bit scary."

The collision was the worst between two moving passenger trains in the UK for 20 years, and the most badly injured person was SWR driver Robin Tandy, who had to be freed from his cab by emergency services and was left with life-changing injuries.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said its final report into the crash was expected to be published before the end of the year.

SWR has been working to identify the worst leaf fall "hot spots" and this autumn, the number of treatment trains through Salisbury had, it said, had been stepped up from one train a day to two.

Mark Killick, Network Rail Wessex route director, said: "Last year's collision at Salisbury is a stark reminder of the very real risk autumn presents to the railway and the need for us to constantly evolve our approach to managing leaf fall."

SWR managing director, Claire Mann, said leaves on the line caused real challenges every autumn.

"The incident in Fisherton Tunnel was one of my most challenging days on the railway and it is important all parties work together to reduce the risk of it happening again," she added.

Then mayor of Salisbury, Caroline Corbin, said she hoped the final RAIB report would be published soon to provide "closure" for everyone involved.

"It's like everything, it's so slow and Covid and everything else has just elongated it," she said.

"It's important that everything that could be learnt from has been learnt, and adapted to ensure it doesn't happen again."

Looking back to the day of the crash, she praised the community spirit shown by those who helped the victims, and said she had hosted a reception at The Guildhall in Salisbury for the rescue workers.

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