Great Heck rail crash

Great Heck Rail Crash

An InterCity 225 DVT, similar to the one involved in the crash
Date	28 February 2001
Time	06:13 GMT
Location	Great Heck, Selby, North Yorkshire
Coordinates	53°41′14″N 1°05′53″W / 53.68722°N 1.09806°W / 53.68722; -1.09806Coordinates: 53°41′14″N 1°05′53″W / 53.68722°N 1.09806°W / 53.68722; -1.09806
Country	England, UK
Rail line	East Coast Main Line
Operator	Great North Eastern Railway
Cause	Obstruction on line
Statistics
Trains	2
Deaths	10
Injuries	82
List of UK rail accidents by year

The Great Heck rail crash, widely known as the Selby rail crash, was a high-speed train accident that occurred at Great Heck near Selby, North Yorkshire, England on the morning of 28 February 2001. Ten people died, including the drivers of both trains involved, and 82 people suffered serious injuries. It remains the worst rail disaster in the 21st century in the United Kingdom.

The crash occurred at approximately 06:13 (GMT), when a Land Rover Defender towing a loaded trailer (carrying a Renault Savanna estate car) swerved off the westbound M62 motorway just before a bridge over the East Coast Main Line. The vehicle ran 30 yards (27 m) down an embankment and onto the southbound railway track. The Land Rover's driver, Gary Neil Hart, tried to reverse it off the track, but he could not. While he was using a mobile telephone to call the emergency services after exiting the vehicle, the Land Rover was hit by a southbound GNER InterCity 225 heading from Newcastle to London King's Cross.

The InterCity 225 was propelled by a Class 91 locomotive (No.91023) and led by Driving Van Trailer (DVT) No. 82221. After striking the Land Rover, the leading bogie of the DVT derailed but the train stayed upright. Points to nearby sidings then deflected it into the path of an oncoming Freightliner freight train carrying coal and travelling from Immingham to Ferrybridge hauled by a Class 66 locomotive (No.66521). The freight train hit the wreckage approximately 2,106 feet (642 m) from the passenger train's impact with the Land Rover. The impact resulted in the near destruction of the lightweight DVT and severe to moderate damage to all nine of the InterCity 225's coaches, which mostly overturned and came to rest down an embankment to the east side of the track, in a field adjacent to the railway line just south of overbridge ECM 2/7. The trailing locomotive remained upright and suffered minor damage, although it was derailed. The Class 66 freight lost its bogies after impact, with debris of the DVT jammed underneath rupturing its fuel tank. The freight locomotive then overturned onto its left side coming to rest in the garden of a residence adjacent to the line to the north of the same bridge. The locomotive sustained major damage to its cab area and right side. The first nine wagons following it were also derailed and damaged to varying extents.