Railways Africa

Nearly 300 people were evacuated from their homes after a 13-wagon train carrying “highly toxic” chemicals from Holland derailed near Ghent, with one fatality and 17 people hurt. It is understood that six wagons left the track on a set of points. Three vehicles caught fire, setting off a “major blaze” and a series of [...]

On 27 April, a locomotive hauling a TPO (travelling post office) van derailed on trap points as it attempted to enter the main-line from a siding. The incident took place on the Great Central Railway at Loughborough, UK, a privately operated “heritage” railway. After the accident it was necessary to pump out the tender water [...]

Railway signalman Adrian Maund, 43, appeared recently in the Birmingham Crown Court, following a most unfortunate January 2010 incident at the Moreton-on-Lugg (Herefordshire) level crossing. Maund said he lifted the crossing barriers because he thought a train from Leominster had already passed. The first car to cross was hit by a train from Manchester to [...]

On 3 August 2010, a 39-tonne maintenance wagon without brakes ran away downhill from Highgate for more than six kilometres into central London on the Northern underground line. It reached speeds of 48km/h as it raced through seven tube stations. A train with passengers travelling on the same line ahead of the runaway was instructed [...]

On 13 March, a Swiss regional train ran into a stationary empty set at Geneva Airport station, causing slight damage. It wasn’t serious and nobody was hurt but it followed a number of other accidents since the start of 2012. Though among the busiest in the world, Swiss railways have an unmatched reputation for safety, [...]

Early in March, the driver of a train from London’s Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire saw muddy water pouring into the tunnel near Old Street station, a section used by two million city workers annually. He reported the incident and all rail services were stopped. Network Rail sent an operations manager in a [...]

At 13:45 on 7 February, 29 people were reported injured when a train entering the main station at East London was incorrectly routed onto a platform line already occupied by a train with passengers due to depart at 14:00. Metrorail regional manager Richard Walker was quoted saying that 27 passengers and two members of staff [...]

A strike by railway workers delayed nearly 400 scheduled trains, according to Polskie Koleje Panstwowe (PKP – Polish State Railways). Important junctions and key stations were reportedly blocked, including Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice, Sosnowiec, Wroclaw, Poznan, Lublin and Czestochowa. The industrial action was in protest at plans to cut bonuses, and followed a deadlock in trade [...]

Train operations were being authorised manually at Vienna on 21 January while technicians were working on the points. During this time – the morning rush hour – two opposing trains, both consisting of S45 commuter sets, were somehow routed onto the same track, resulting in a head-on collision. In all 41 people were listed as [...]

Train services in and out of Victoria, a major London terminus, were disrupted on 17 January when fire broke out on an incoming Gatwick Express set. For a brief period the entire station was evacuated, an unprecedented occurrence.