Passengers were hurt after being thrown from their seats and struck by falling luggage while travelling on a train being driven at 50mph over the speed limit. Investigators have said the train "suddenly lurched sideways" when it went over three sets of points at 75mph - when it was supposedly to only be going a maximum of 25mph.
At the time of the incident, British Transport Police said 15 passengers reported minor injuries and were offered medical assistance by paramedics. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said the Lumo service passed over the points near Peterborough station in Cambridgeshire at 10.20am on Sunday, April 17.
The service involved was the 8.20am departure from Newcastle to London King’s Cross. It came to a stop after passing through Peterborough.
The train was not due to call at the station. It initially approached the area on a fast line, before being routed on to a slower line via the points where the speed limit was broken.
The RAIB is carrying out a full investigation into what happened. This will include consideration of the way the train was driven, any factors which may have influenced the driver, the condition of the signalling system, the nature of the injuries, and any underlying management issues.
However, the RAIB has issued a preliminary statement. It said: "Passing over the points at this speed (75mph) meant that the train suddenly lurched sideways.
"The sudden movement of the train resulted in some passengers being thrown from their seats and in luggage falling from the overhead storage in the passenger compartments. This resulted in a number of minor injuries being sustained by passengers."
Police received a report that the train’s emergency brake was applied. Lumo, owned by FirstGroup, began running services on the East Coast Main Line between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley in October 2021, competing against state-run London North Eastern Railway.
It is an open access operator. This means it does not receive Government funding.
