Purley station rail crash
Details
Date4 March 1989
13:39
LocationPurley
CountryEngland
LineBrighton Main Line
OperatorNetwork SouthEast
CauseSignal passed at danger
Statistics
Trains2
Deaths5
Injured88
List of UK rail accidents by year

The Purley station rail crash was a train collision that occurred just to the north of Purley railway station in the London Borough of Croydon on Saturday 4 March 1989, leaving five dead and 88 injured. The collision was caused by the driver of one of the trains passing a signal at danger; he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 months in prison plus six months suspended, although this was reduced to four months upon appeal, and in 2007 overturned. The Department of Transport report noted that the signal had a high incidence of being passed at danger and recommended that an automatic train protection system should be introduced without delay and in the interim a repeater for the signal that had been passed be installed.

Collision

On 4 March 1989 the 12:50 Horsham to London Victoria, consisting of a four-car class 423 electric multiple unit no. 3441, stopped at Purley railway station. As it left the station, it crossed from the slow line to the fast line as scheduled and at 13:39 was struck from behind by the following 12:17 Littlehampton to London Victoria, consisting of four-car class 421 units nos. 1280 and 1285 (for a total of eight cars).[1][2] The first six coaches of the Littlehampton train left the track and came off the embankment, killing five passengers and injuring 88.[3]

Aftermath

The first calls to the emergency services came from members of the public.[4] The driver of a light engine running on an adjacent track saw the collision and contacted the signalbox. The signalling equipment had been damaged in the collision and alarms had sounded in the box. The signalmen in the box spoke to railway control at Waterloo, but due to confusion about the location of the trains, police in East Sussex were first contacted. The collision had tripped circuit breakers controlling the DC traction current, but safety could not be assured as the supervisory circuits had been damaged.[5] The incident was attended by British Transport Police, the fire brigade and the ambulance service, and a police helicopter was used to fly doctors to the site.[6] Passengers who were able to walk were evacuated via Purley station, the last casualty being taken to hospital at about 15:15; the search however continued until 17:00.[7]

The railway was closed until 6 March, although the damaged vehicles that lay on the embankment side were not all removed until 9 March. The crossover was replaced, and normal operations were restored on 27 March.[3]

Trial, report and appeals

Before the Ministry of Transport report was published, Robert Morgan – the driver of the Littlehampton train – pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 months in prison plus six months suspended.[8]

The report, published in 1989, found no fault in the Littlehampton train or signalling system, and concluded that the driver had failed to keep the train's speed under control, missing the preceding caution signal and passing the danger signal protecting the Horsham train.[9] The line is equipped with four aspect colour light signalling[note 1] and British Rail's Automatic Warning System (AWS).[11] However the report noted that the signal had a high incidence of being passed at danger[12] – four drivers had previously passed the signal when at danger in the previous five years.[13] The AWS in use gave the same warning for either of the caution signals and danger, and was capable of being reset by a driver in a lapse of concentration.[12] The report recommended that an automatic train protection system should be introduced without delay, and in the interim a repeater for the signal that had been passed be installed.[14]

Morgan's sentence was later cut on appeal to four months, and on 12 December 2007 his conviction for manslaughter was overturned by the Court of Appeal, ruling the conviction unsafe as "something about the infrastructure of this particular junction was causing mistakes to be made" as new evidence showed that there had been four previous signals passed at danger at the same location in the five years before the crash.[15] He died in March 2009, aged 66, as a result of drowning whilst sailing in the River Medina on the Isle of Wight.[16]

Legacy

A memorial garden was created at the station to commemorate the accident.[17]

References and notes

Notes

  1. ↑ The signal shows either red for danger, a single yellow light for caution – the next signal is danger, two yellow lights for caution – the next signal is caution or green for proceed.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Cooksey 1989, pp. 1, 3.
  2. ↑ McCrickard, John P (6 October 2016). "January 1989 to December 1989". Network South East Railway Society. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  3. 1 2 Cooksey 1989, p. 1.
  4. ↑ Cooksey 1989, p. 9.
  5. ↑ Cooksey 1989, p. 10.
  6. ↑ Cooksey 1989, pp. 11–13.
  7. ↑ Cooksey 1989, p. 11.
  8. ↑ Cooksey 1989, p. 20.
  9. ↑ Cooksey 1989, p. 28.
  10. ↑ Cooksey 1989, diagram 2.
  11. ↑ Cooksey 1989, p. 2.
  12. 1 2 Cooksey 1989, p. 26.
  13. ↑ Cooksey 1989, pp. 19–20.
  14. ↑ Cooksey 1989, pp. 28–29.
  15. ↑ "Rail crash convictions overturned". BBC News. 12 December 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  16. ↑ "Man cleared of manslaughter dies in sailing accident". Daily Echo. 26 March 2009.
  17. ↑ Till, Joanna (2 February 2011). "Memorial to Purley train crash victims is now a fitting crash tribute". This is Croydon Today. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2011.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Hall, Stanley (1991). Danger on the Line. Ian Allan.
  • Vaughan, Adrian (2000). Tracks to Disaster. Ian Allan.
  • Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith (January 1994). Caterham and Tattenham Corner. London Suburban Railways. Midhurst: Middleton Press. figure 13. ISBN 1-873793-25-1.
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