The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has completed a preliminary examination into the circumstances surrounding a collision at Queen’s Park in North London.

The collision occurred at around 05:35 on Saturday, 9th May this year, when a passenger train collided with two rail handling trolleys at Queen’s Park. A passenger train was travelling at 77 mph when it struck the trolleys, which had been left on the track after overnight engineering work in the area. Fortunately, no passengers or staff suffered any injuries, but the damage sustained by the trolleys rendered them beyond economic repair.

The train involved in the collision was not derailed, but it sustained damage such that it could not continue in service.

Having assessed the evidence which it has been able to gather about the incident, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch has undertaken a preliminary examination into the circumstances surrounding this collision. After examining that evidence, it has decided to publish a safety digest, which it will make available on its website in the next few weeks.

Collisions with trains arise from a multitude of causes, such as a collision between a passenger train and an agricultural trailer at Nordan Farm in Herefordshire on 22nd May 2025.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is also sometimes involved in road accidents, such as a collision on 20th March this year between a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) and another vehicle on the M2 motorway in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which resulted in a secondary collision with a containment barrier separating the carriageway and the railway line.