Severe delays were occurring through Bath and much of the South West yesterday evening after a person was hit by a train near Swindon.
The 4pm London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads service had left on time but left Swindon station five minutes late.
The train struck the person at around 5.05pm while travelling between Swindon and Chippenham.
Trains that would normally have be running between Swindon and Bristol Parkway/South Wales were diverted away from the scene adding up to 90 minutes onto the journey times.
Rail replacement buses were provided for passengers stranded at Bath Spa station heading for Swindon and Chippenham.
The delays also meant that some of the trains across the area were further delayed due to members of the upcoming train crews being onboard stuck trains.
Train delays were seen for the rest of the evening, with services being able to head east from Bath but not west towards the station.
Network Rail were working with the emergency services and the British Transport Police to assess damage to the train and investigate the scene.
The train involved with the fatality was cleared to move by engineers at 7.12pm. The train had to stop again at 7.25 at Chippenham Station due to damage on the door of one of the saloons.
The delays cleared across the area at around 9pm.
3 Comments
mopsus
Thursday 20th June, 2013 at 23:26What, exactly, would be unsafe if the barriers were taken away? It’s just a bit of pavement for goodness sake! And when is work going to start on this pedestrian crossing? Will it be ignored as much as the one on the corner of Dorchester St and Manvers St, where drivers of buses and cars regularly tailgate over and stop on the crossing?
NOW Bath
Thursday 20th June, 2013 at 09:27The barriers are currently in place while construction work is completed.
“SouthGate Bath and BANES are working together to install the final pedestrian crossing across Dorchester Street, until that time the red barriers are in place as a safety precaution.”
https://www.facebook.com/SouthGateBath/posts/531926463538237
mopsus
Thursday 20th June, 2013 at 09:24Can we get rid of that ugly ‘temporary’ red and white barrier outside the station please! It’s one of the first things vistors to Bath see and it’s been there for ages.