Corby train crash: 'Ineffective' flood system caused landslide

The train was travelling at 40mph when it became stuck after it hit debris

A train hit debris from a landslide caused by "ineffective" flood management, a report has found.

About 550 passengers were stranded near Corby, Northamptonshire, for seven hours after the accident in June.

A Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report found there was a lack of "effective communication" over flood risks and "significant" delays rescuing passengers.

Network Rail said it had implemented some of the report's recommendations.

The train was travelling at 40mph (64 km/h) when it became stuck after it hit debris at about 15:50 BST on 13 June last year.

All 191 passengers on board were transferred to a southbound train three hours later, but this subsequently became trapped by floodwater.

Five hours after the crash British Transport Police declared a major incident due to reports passengers were becoming agitated because of "uncomfortable and deteriorating conditions" onboard.

The evacuation was "significantly delayed" due to a lack of equipment for transferring passengers from one train to another and they were not rescued until 23:15, the report said.

The East Midlands Trains service stopped when the track was covered with rubble

The flooding was caused by a blockage beneath a nearby bridge which forced excess water to flow into two flood storage ponds, one of which overflowed causing water to cascade down the cutting slope, causing a landslide.

A pump to release water, managed by Anglian Water, had not been used for nearly a month despite heavy rainfall in the days before the accident.

Investigators said previous risk engagement between the organisations responsible for flood management assets, including Network Rail, Homes England and Anglian Water, was "often adversarial" and that there were "no clear lines of communication" between them at the time.

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The RAIB recommended Network Rail, Anglian Water and Homes England work with local councils and the Environment Agency to prevent and manage future floods.

Network Rail, Anglian Water and Homes England confirmed they were working together to improve the flood management system.

An Anglian Water spokesman added: "We are usually able to maintain water levels in our balancing pond in Corby by pumping an excess water into a nearby stream.

"Last June, we were unable to do this because of heavy rainfall causing high water levels in the stream, which was also blocked by a fly-tipped mattress.

"Had we pumped water from the balancing pond to the stream, there would have been a significant risk of flooding to the local area."

Passengers used a gangway to transfer on to another train