The RAIB has confirmed that they are investigating the train fire and derailment near Llangennech, in Carmarthenshire.
At 23:15 on the 26th August 2020, 6A11 21:52 Robeston to Theale, with 25 tank wagons, each with up to 75.5 tonnes of diesel or gas oil, derailed on the Up District line, the derailment and damage to the wagons resulted in a significant amount of fuel to spill out, resulting in a major fire.
The driver was unhurt in the incident and reported the accident to the signaller.
Examination of the scene revealed that 10 wagons (3rd – 12th) had derailed.
The fire service tackled the fire, who evacuated local residents due to concerns for their safety.
The RAIB’s investigation will identify the cause of the derailment, and see how this led to the fire. However, the British Transport Police has said that neither the fire or derailment was caused by criminal activity, so have handed the scene over to the RAIB.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Langley from British Transport Police said: “Thanks to the efforts of our officers and our colleagues from across the emergency services in making the scene safe at Llangennech, we have been able to conduct an initial investigation into this incident.
“Our initial findings are that the derailment is not believed to have been caused by criminal activity.
“We are therefore handing primacy of the scene to the Office of Rail and Road so that it can carry out its own specialist investigation.
“I would like to once again thank our officers for their efforts during this challenging incident, and I am grateful to all of our partners for their help and support in ensuring the safety of the local community.”
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Responses
It was the wagon brake fault that caused the derailment.
So we still don’t know what caused the freight train to derail near Llangennech, Carmarthenshire in South Wales.
So there was no criminal activity when the derailment happened Llangennech in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. Must be a track defect or points failure or the driver went through a red light before the disaster happened.