Derailed Essex to London train leads to travel chaos

A large crowd of police and railway workers attending a damaged white train carriage. — Image caption,

The train derailed south of Wickford railway station in Essex

ByLewis AdamsEssex

Railway services were plunged into chaos after a train derailed in Essex.

The Greater Anglia service from Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street came off the tracks in Wickford at 14:12 BST on Friday, leading to all trips being cancelled.

About 45 passengers were on board the commuter-line train but nobody was injured and it remained upright, according to investigators.

It happened less than 24 hours after two passengers were seriously injured in a separate derailment in East Sussex.

A long line of ambulances and police cars parked on a road parallel to the railway line — Image caption,

All emergency services rushed to Wickford as the incident unfolded

‘The train swung wildly,’ says passenger on board derailed service

Network Rail has warned passengers that “major disruption” will continue until at least Saturday, including for those going to Southminster and Braintree.

The train departed Rayleigh at 14:06 but failed to reach Wickford at 14:11 as planned, due to two of its rear carriages coming off the tracks.

Jon Young has taken a selfie with a member of Greater Anglia staff. Both are walking along the railway line next to the train and wearing pale blue shirts. — Image caption,

Jon Young got off the train with a member of Greater Anglia staff who was on board

“The train swung wildly for around 10 seconds, like it was about to tilt over,” Jon Young told the BBC.

“It then carried on going for a couple of minutes but there was a horrible vibrating sound.”

The 37-year-old from Brentwood said smoke entered the rear carriage and led to “panicked” people running in fear.

There was also confusion at Southend Airport, which is on the affected train line.

“Many passengers can’t get to their onward destinations from the railway station here,” said BBC Essex reporter Matt Knight, who had, himself, just landed from holiday.

An air ambulance landed close to the scene off Salcott Crescent as a precaution, alongside police, firefighters and paramedics.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) also deployed a team of investigators to gather evidence.

A drone image showing police and railway workers assessing the train and railway tracks. — Image caption,

Investigators are asessing how the train came off the tracks

Danielle Belton, who runs a business nearby, said the derailment was so loud it shook her office.

“All the girls in my office, we all kind of went, ‘blimey, what was that?’,” said Belton, a Conservative councillor in neighbouring Rochford.

“You felt the office rattle and you heard the loud noise.”

Residents handed out bottled water and ice lollies to emergency crews working in the 33C (91.4F) heat.

A whiteboard in front of closed railway gates. It says there has been an incident and all services are cancelled until further notice. — Image caption,

Some passengers at Southend Airport were left stranded by the lack of rail services

Martin Frobisher, of Network Rail, said the summer’s hot weather had “presented exceptional challenges to the railway”.

The investigation would specifically assess “whether or not this was weather-related”, said Mark Francois, the Conservative MP for Rayleigh and Wickford.

“However, the bottom line is that, thankfully, the passengers appear to be safe,” he added.

The Department for Transport stressed Britain’s railways were “among the safest in the world” as it reacted to the incident.

It said derailments were “incredibly rare” events.

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