Heritage railway train derails as services halted


The derailment is the first such incident in Churnet Valley Railway's 30-year history, the operator said - Image © Churnet Valley Railway

A train has derailed on a heritage railway forcing a halt to services, its operator has confirmed.

The locomotive and coach, which was not carrying passengers, came off the tracks on the Churnet Valley Railway shortly after departing Cheddleton, Staffordshire, on Saturday.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Churnet Valley Railway Plc (CVR) said the train consisted of "empty coaching stock" and no injuries had been reported after the incident, at about 09:40 BST.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) confirmed to the BBC it had been notified of the derailment.

CVR said it was the first time this had happened, and it was working closely with the relevant authorities, while operations to remove and re-rail the locomotive and coach were under way. "The railway has proudly operated heritage steam and diesel services since 1996 and this is the first incident of this nature in our history," it said on Facebook.

"We are committed to understanding exactly what has occurred and will continue to support all investigative efforts." It said the locomotive involved was new to the fleet but had undergone "extensive testing" prior to entering service. "It would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause at this stage," CVR added.

Trains were suspended throughout Saturday and remained so on Sunday, with normal service expected to resume on Wednesday. CVR apologised to anyone affected by the derailment and confirmed Foxfield Railway would offer free travel for those who have Sunday tickets.

"A decision on RAIB's course of action will be taken in the coming days," an RAIB spokesperson said.

In a social media post, Churnet Valley Railway stated: "An investigation has confirmed that this incident was not caused by any single factor. Instead, it resulted from a combination of multiple, minor and otherwise manageable elements aligning in a particular set of circumstances. This type of occurrence, sometimes described as the “Swiss cheese model”, is recognised across safety-critical industries. No individual issue has been identified that, in isolation, would have led to a derailment, and there is no single point of failure to attribute. Track repairs resulting from the derailment have been completed.