Ufton Nervet rail crash

The Ufton Nervet rail crash was a railway accident between a train and car in Ufton Nervet, Berkshire, England that caused seven deaths.

On 6 November 2004 at 18:12 GMT, the First Great Western 17:35 service from London Paddington to Plymouth, a High Speed Train (HST) led by a Class 43 power car (43019), collided with a stationary vehicle at an automatic level crossing close to the rural Berkshire village of Ufton Nervet. The inquest concluded that the accident was caused by Brian Drysdale, a chef at the nearby Wokefield Park Hotel, attempting to commit suicide by parking his car on the crossing.

The rear of the 220m-long HST set came to rest approximately 100m beyond the crossing with all eight coaches derailed. Six people were killed in the crash: the car's driver, the driver of the train, and four of its passengers. Another passenger subsequently died in a hospital. Approximately 200 people were on board at the time of the incident (official estimates are around 180-200), with around half of these injured, 12 of them seriously. Eleven people had to be cut free from the wreckage. The high structural integrity of the Mark 3 coaches prevented a much higher death toll, plus the fact that the more lightly loaded first class coaches were at the leading end of the train.

The accident, investigation and necessary repairs blocked the main railway route between London and the West Country until the morning of 16 November, subsequently operating under temporary speed restrictions to allow the bedding in of ballast. In the meantime inter-city trains operated via Swindon and Westbury and local services were replaced by rail and bus shuttles.

Background
In Britain, fully automatic "half-barrier" level crossings (AHBC) are used on roads where traffic is unlikely to queue across the crossing and where rail line-speed is not more than 100 mph (160 km/h). There are no means of checking that the crossing is not obstructed before the passage of a train. The half barriers close the road to traffic approaching the crossing but allow any trapped vehicle to escape. However, this allows drivers to "zig zag" around the barriers and cross the line, usually in an attempt to save time.

Investigation
An investigation was carried out by Thames Valley Police and the British Transport Police. A preliminary report by the Health and Safety Executive indicated that the car stopped on the level crossing before any warnings and failed to react to the barrier alarm sequence. A minor deflection of the stationary car to one side by the train derailed the forward bogie, which continued to travel at about 25° to the rails until reaching the points at the start of a loop. At this point the power car derailed completely, causing the remainder of the train to derail.

In the absence of information from the investigation, local and press speculation centred on the theory that Bryan Drysdale, the car's driver, might have parked on the level crossing in order to commit suicide, because there was no evidence of any attempt to move or exit the car.

The Rail Safety and Standards Board published a preliminary report on 1 February 2005 which stated that:
 * The automatic half-barrier equipment and its associated ancillary equipment is in good condition and properly maintained.
 * The train's driver shut off power and coasted for around four seconds, which was normal for this point in the journey. He then made an emergency brake application at or about the time of impact with the car.
 * Lighting was completely lost in all the coaches during the accident. As a result, passengers and crew found orientation difficult, though the provision of snap light wands alleviated this problem to some degree. Some passengers who attempted to break windows in order to escape from the vehicle were hampered by breakage of the window hammers, and by the difficulty of reaching the upper windows of a vehicle leaning heavily to one side.
 * No evidence has been presented that the maintenance condition of the train contributed in any way to the derailment or exacerbated its consequences.
 * No evidence has been presented to the inquiry that would indicate there were any deficiencies in the fitness for duty on the part of the staff of either Network Rail or First Great Western.

On 1 June 2005 it was announced that an inquest into the crash would be held at the Guildhall in Windsor, Berkshire. The inquest was expected to last 12 days, starting on 17 October 2005. It had been delayed due to a dispute over whether the families of the victims should receive legal aid. The inquest finally began in October 2007. Testimony was heard from the policeman who witnessed the crash. PC Brazier told the jury that he believed the crash was caused by a suicide attempt. The Forensic Accident Investigator, David Price, told the inquest that he had been able to determine that the car had been parked on the level crossing with its engine switched off, the handbrake fully applied, the vehicle's lights were switched off, the steering was on a partial left hand lock (which was not consistent with driving across the crossing), and that the car had at least 8 litres of petrol still present.

The final conclusion of the inquest on the 1st November 2007 was that the accident had been caused by Brian Drysdale committing suicide. A support network, the Ufton Nervet Train Crash Network, was set up for survivors and relatives of the victims.

List of the deceased

 * Brian Drysdale, 48, of Reading, Berkshire (the car driver)
 * Louella Main, 9, of Speen, Berkshire (the daughter of Anjanette Rossi)
 * Stanley Martin, 54, of Torquay, Devon (the train driver)
 * Charlie Matthews, 72, of Warminster, Wiltshire
 * Anjanette Rossi, 38, of Speen, Berkshire (the mother of Louella Main)
 * Barry Strevens, 55, of Wells, Somerset
 * Emily Webster, 14, of Doccombe, Devon

Location
The accident occurred at a level crossing on the narrow lane linking the village of Ufton Nervet to the Bath Road (A4), about 300 metres from their junction. The crossing is between Theale and Aldermaston stations - the train was not scheduled to stop at either station.

Position: