Final report released on cause of fatal Wales train crash
Rail investigator publishes final report into 2024 fatal train collision in Powys, Wales
A fatal train collision in mid Wales, which killed one passenger and seriously injured four others, could have been prevented if the train driver had used an emergency speed reduction system.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) concluded that the driver of the westbound Transport for Wales (TfW) train did not deploy the manually operated sander, saying it “had not occurred to them”.
The incident, Britain’s first fatal multi-train crash in over 25 years, occurred on October 21, 2024, near Talerddig in Powys, when a westbound train overshot its stopping point and collided head-on with an oncoming train.
Investigators found that the westbound train’s automatic sanding system had multiple failures, and calculated that the train would have stopped within the loop if the manual sander had been used.
The RAIB’s report made nine recommendations, including urging TfW to review driver training, after a survey revealed a “lack of clarity” among drivers regarding the emergency system’s use.
