1995 Ais Gill rail accident
| Date | 31 January 1995 |
|---|---|
| Time | 18:55 |
| Location | Aisgill, Cumbria |
| Country | England |
| Rail line | Settle-Carlisle Line |
| Cause | Line obstructed by landslide |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 |
| Deaths | 1 |
| List of UK rail accidents by year | |
The 1995 Ais Gill rail accident occurred near Aisgill, Cumbria, at about 18:55 hrs on 31 January 1995 when a class 156 Super-Sprinter was derailed by a landslide on the Settle-Carlisle Railway line and was subsequently run into by a similar train travelling in the opposite direction. The conductor of the first train, Mr Stuart Wilson was fatally injured in the collision.
The subsequent report made by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate was the last report to be submitted under the terms of the Regulation of Railways Act 1871, which was repealed in 1995.
A Class 156 Super-Sprinter formed the 1626 Carlisle to Leeds via Settle service (headcode 2H88). It could only proceed as far as Ribblehead railway station, about 12 miles north of Settle, as the lines from Ribblehead to Settle were blocked by flooding; so it had to return to Carlisle. The driver changed cabs as the train was now heading northbound instead of southbound, and proceeded back over the Ribblehead Viaduct, and on to Aisgill Summit, the highest point on the line at 1,169 feet (356 m) above sea level. It was dark and raining heavily.
Near Aisgill Summit itself the train hit a landslide. It derailed across both tracks, and the cabin lights went off plunging it into darkness. The injured driver managed to make an emergency radio call to Crewe Control Room to tell them of the incident. However, the actions at Crewe and York Control Rooms did not prevent the subsequent collision. The conductor escorted passengers into the rear unit, which was across the northbound track. He then returned to see the driver who was still in the cab. Either the conductor or the driver (it is not known which) changed the lights from white to red to warn oncoming trains of the obstruction but no other action was taken.
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