Transport for Wales is assisting the emergency services after a train hit a vehicle near Leominster.
Train services cannot run, which means that services between Cardiff Central and Manchester Piccadilly / Holyhead are cancelled or severely delayed.
Police were called to a level crossing north of Leominster at around 10:40 am.
It is expected that the line will be open by 7 pm, but the disruption will last until the end of the day.
A Transport for Wales spokesperson said that ’emergency services are currently dealing with a serious incident in the Leominster area’ and for safety reasons, the line is closed.
Six people are currently thought to be injured but police say that the injuries are not thought to be serious.
The British Transport Police said:
“British Transport Police were called to a level crossing north of Leominster, Herefordshire, at 10.40am today (22 May) following reports that a train had struck a tractor and trailer.
Officers are in attendance, alongside officers from West Mercia Police, paramedics and fire service.
Currently six individuals are being assessed by paramedics with injuries that are not thought to be serious.
Enquiries are ongoing into the full circumstances leading up to the incident.”
Responses
Interesting to see the dreadful BBC posting this after the same story. This accident has to be investigated but is clearly nothing to do with trains safety.
Last month, investigators found numerous faults detected in a safety system on a TfW train were a contributing factor for a fatal crash in October 2024.
The trains – the Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth service and the Machynlleth to Shrewsbury service – were travelling in opposite directions on a single line and were meant to pass on an extra section of line but the braking system failed.
One man, 66, died and four other passengers were seriously injured.
I think you’ll find that the initial report from the RAIB showed that the brakes themselves didn’t fail, but that blocked wheel sanding devices and a build up of leaf mulch on the rails caused the wheels to lockup and then slide along the rail.
Anyway, this has nothing in common with the incident in Herefordshire where a train ran into an agricultural vehicle that crossed the line in front of it – in this situation, and even with a full brake application, it is impossible for a train to stop in time to prevent collision.