Potters Bar rail accidents
A Class 365 of the type involved in the accident.
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| Date | 10 May 2002 |
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| Time | 12:58 BST |
| Location | Potters Bar, Hertfordshire |
| Coordinates | 51°41′49″N 0°11′38″W / 51.697°N 0.194°WCoordinates: 51°41′49″N 0°11′38″W / 51.697°N 0.194°W |
| Country | England |
| Rail line | East Coast Main Line |
| Operator | West Anglia Great Northern |
| Cause | Derailment due to movement of points |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Passengers | 151 |
| Deaths | 7 |
| Injuries | 76 |
| List of UK rail accidents by year | |
There have been four railway accidents in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, England, one in 1898, one in 1899, one in 1946 and the latest in 2002.
On 19 March 1898, the 7:50 p.m train from Hatfield to King's Cross ran past the signals at danger when it reached Potters Bar. The train cut through the catch points and buffers and crashed onto the platform. The front part of the engine was smashed and the leading coach wrecked. No one was killed. The driver, fireman and guard narrowly escaped injury. Some passengers complained of being shaken but were able to go home.
On 16 May 1899 the Earl of Strafford was killed in an accident at Potters Bar railway station when he was hit by an express train. He appeared from witnesses to step in front of the train from the bottom of the slope at the end of the platform, he was carried for 50 yards. The coroner's court investigated his medical conditions where he was prone to catalepsy, they also considered suicide, the jury returned a verdict that the death was due to misadventure.
On 10 February 1946, a local passenger train travelling towards Kings Cross hit a set of buffers at Potters Bar station and the derailed carriages fouled the main line. Two express trains travelling in opposite directions then hit the wreckage. Two passengers were killed and the 17 injured were taken to hospital. The driver of the local train was eventually held to blame but a signalman was found to have contributed to the accident by changing a set of points as the train passed over them.
On 10 May 2002 a northbound train derailed at high speed, killing seven and injuring 76. Part of the train ended up wedged between the station platforms and building structures.
A West Anglia Great Northern train service left King's Cross station at 12:45 bound for King's Lynn in Norfolk, via Cambridge. At 12:55, travelling at 97 mph, the four-car Class 365 Electric multiple unit (unit number: 365526) crossed over a set of points "2182A" just south of Potters Bar railway station. As the train travelled over the points, they moved, causing the rear bogie of the third carriage and the whole of the fourth carriage to derail. This caused the fourth carriage to become detached and cross onto the adjacent line where it flipped into the air. The momentum carried the carriage into the station, where one end of the carriage struck Darkes Lane bridge parapet, sending debris onto the road below. It then mounted the platform and slid along before coming to rest under the platform canopy at 45 degrees. The front three carriages remained on the rails, and came to a stand approximately 400 metres north of the station following an automatic operation of the brakes.
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