On unlucky Friday, Scotland dodged a tragedy. It could have been a horrific replay of a deadly accident recalled from more than twenty years ago. Instead, it was only a hugely embarrassing incident, that had one man arrested and caused chaos on Britain’s West Coast Main Line, the busiest mixed traffic route in Europe.
A vehicle crashed onto railway tracks near the Scotland – England border on Friday (13 December). It brought all cross-border rail and road traffic to a standstill, but it could have been much worse. The crash caused an ‘all stop’ on rail lines and the motorway that connects Glasgow with England. Both were blocked for varying times during the day.
A freight crash, but not as we know it
An articulated semi-trailer – known in Britain as a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) – crashed off the southbound M74 motorway on Friday morning. It came to rest on rail tracks near Gretna Junction. Reports began filtering into emergency services from around 8am on Friday, but the exact location was unclear. For several valid safety reasons, this resulted in a stop to all traffic on the West Coast Main Line. STV, a local broadcaster reported the incident.
For most people, “Gretna” is famous as the Scottish border location where young lovers traditionally fled to escape the strict marriage laws of England. That matrimonial location is actually Gretna Green, an adjacent community, just north of Gretna. A railway station, Gretna Green, serves both communities. However, there is also a railway feature – Gretna Junction – where the WCML and an alternative route north diverge. The major highway, the M74, crosses both lines in quick succession. Given the possible confusion over the exact location of the crash, there was little alternative but to halt all rail traffic.
Memories of earlier tragedy
The folklore tradition of bad luck on Friday the Thirteenth may have been seen to come true. However, the incident could be looked upon in an entirely different light. Undoubtedly, it was a bad day for the driver of the articulated truck. Nevertheless, it could have been very much worse. The road accident was remarkably minor, given the speed, weight and circumstances of the crash. The rail accident was confined to damaged tracks, and delays and disruption for passengers and freight for most of the day.
This could have been a horrific incident, reminiscent of the “Great Heck” crash of 2001. In that disaster, on the East Coast Main Line (on 28 February 2001), a vehicle crashed down an embankment onto the tracks of the ECML. It was subsequently struck by a fast passenger train, which then collided with a goods train. Ten people were killed, and scores were injured.
Outcomes very fortunate
Fortunately, the outcome this time was far more benign. The line affected is used by a small number of ScotRail passenger services, and an even smaller volume of freight and engineering trains. There is a recently opened freight depot nearby.
The truck was in the livery of Warrington-based Mark Thompson, part of the Kinaxia Group logistics operation. The causes of the crash are a matter of investigation by both Police Scotland and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch. For all concerned, this potentially black Friday turned out to be very lucky Friday indeed.