The British Transport Police are advising people in Salisbury that disruption on rail and road transport is expected until the end of week as the investigation continues into the train crash at Fisherton Tunnel on Sunday 31st October.

Officers remain at the search conducting searches of the area and finishing their evidence recovery before the trains can be removed

A section of the A30 London Road, between St Mark’s Avenue and Harrington Road, has been shut since the crash and will remain closed until the end of the week to allow machinery and lorries, including a crane, to access the area to recover the two trains.

Following an assessment, it has been deemed it is too dangerous to allow pedestrians to access the road whilst the closure is in place.

Due to limited daylight hours, there may be some noise disruption for residents between 8 am and 4 pm whilst recovery of the trains take place.

Disruption to trains is likely to continue passed the end of the week whilst infrastructure repairs are made.

Superintendent Chris Horton said: “I’d like to pay a huge, heartfelt thank you to residents in the area for their patience and understanding while we continue with this phase of the operation.

“We fully understand the hindrance caused by this closure and having considered all possible alternatives, have no other option available to us.

“Ourselves and all of our partners involved in the recovery are working tirelessly to ensure as little disruption to the lives of the local community as possible, and to restore full access to them as soon as we can.

“Currently, we expect the recovery of the trains to be complete by Sunday however this is a highly complex operation and this time-scale may change, in which case we will update residents as soon as possible.”

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council said: “I’d like to thank everyone in Salisbury and surrounding areas for their support, patience and understanding during the ongoing closure of London Road particularly as it has caused some traffic issues in the city.

“We know any delays are frustrating, but the teams on site have done an excellent job in difficult and unique circumstances to respond to this major incident, which is another fine example of close working between public sector partners.

“Our thoughts continue to go out to those affected by the train derailment, and we wish them all a fast and full recovery.”

The Mayor of the City of Salisbury, Cllr Caroline Corbin said: “Having seen the challenging site myself, I am very grateful for all the hard work that many individuals from different organisations have done to throughout this incident.

“Everyone is now working to keep disruption to a minimum and I would like to thank Salisbury’s residents for their patience and understanding. My thoughts are with all of those who are affected by this incident.”

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