30-04-2025
Report released into Talerddig train crash amid Storm Ashley
Four people were seriously injured including the train drivers, one of which was trapped attempting to leave the cab, in a crash that killed a man in Powys.
Investigators have released more details about the collision between two Transport for Wales passenger trains which happened near Talerddig, between Carno and Llanbrynmair, during Storm Ashley on October 21 last year.
An interim report from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has now revealed that one of the trains had attempted to stop at a passing loop but slid past while braking downhill into the single line, heading towards the other train at 24mph.
On the morning of the collision, the Aberystwyth -bound train was stabled in a platform at Chester station which meant the driver did not have access to equipment on the train's underframe including the sander test button and consequently could not be checked.
No faults had been reported during various routes to Aberystwyth, Shrewsbury and Birmingham that day.
Around 10 minutes after departing from Caersws station at 7.15pm towards Machynlleth, the driver, who had been braking, called the signaller to say that the train was sliding and was probably going to pass the marker.
The train then exited the Talerddig passing loop at around 20mph and the speed was increasing downhill despite the brakes remaining fully applied.
The other train travelling towards Shrewsbury was told by the signaller to stop and over the next nine seconds the driver applied the brakes then the emergency brake before the collision happened four seconds later.
Realising that a collision was imminent, the driver of the train heading towards Aberystwyth moved into the saloon area and warned nearby passengers.
Two minutes after the collision the driver made a railway emergency call to the signaller after checking on the passengers.
Neither the Machynlleth-bound train which was carrying 31 people, nor the Caersws-bound train with six passengers on board including two TfW staff, derailed in the collision. Significant damage was caused to the front of both trains, however.
David Tudor Evans, 66, was suspected to have died from a heart attack, while 22 people were injured, four of which were seriously hurt.
RAIB investigators have so far concluded that neither the automatic sander nor the emergency sander on the Aberystwyth-bound train discharged sand in the moments immediately before the collision.
The orifice plates, which are part of the sander pneumatic system, were found to be installed incorrectly; both were upside down and one was incorrectly aligned.
Both sand delivery hoses were found to be blocked which would have prevented the sand from being ejected but RAIB said there was no evidence of any significant build-up of sand and it had flowed freely when the test button was pressed during subsequent testing.
However, no defects relating to the sanders were reported by any of the drivers on October 20 and 21.
The last routine maintenance test which could have identified electrical faults with the sander isolation and the low-speed relay was completed nice days before the collision on October 12.
The investigation is continuing and a full report is expected at a later date.
