Fatal fire 'was not first of its kind' says railwayman
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.AN ALMOST identical fire to the one which caused the death of a passenger on an InterCity train on Friday night occurred in the early 1980s, a former railwayman has told the Independent on Sunday.
Poor maintenance rather than vandalism was yesterday thought to be the most likely cause of the blaze on the 18.30 Paddington to Swansea train which caused panic and led one man to jump to his death near Maidenhead into the path of an InterCity train travelling from Bristol. He was named as Ian Jones, a civil servant from Swindon.
The fire occurred after diesel leaked from a tank which had come loose and was ignited by sparks. As the driver brought the train to a halt, several passengers smashed windows and jumped out. They were unable to leave by the doors as these were centrally locked.
Yesterday, police investigators combed the track looking for debris and clues to the cause. A British Transport Police spokesman said: "We don't think vandalism was involved, but we have not ruled it out."
According to the former railwayman, he witnessed a fire near Reading in the early 1980s on a train heading out of London. "Vandals had put a rail on the line in such a way as to hit the fuel tank. The tank burst and spread diesel around the train, just as in Friday's incident. Fortunately the blaze was spotted by a signalman who brought the train to a stop. No one was hurt."
Accident investigators will try to establish how the fuel tank became detached. They also want to find out whether there was unnecessary delay in leading people to safety off the train and whether lack of communication contributed to the fatality.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments