First person killed by steam train in nearly 60 years

Detailed summary

The 34028 Eddystone locomotive had left Southall depot in west London for Victoria Station when it collided with a person who had allegedly walked off a platform at Hanwell at around 6am on Wednesday.

A person was fatally struck by a steam train on its way to an Armistice Day event in the first incident of its kind in almost 60 years.

The 34028 Eddystone locomotive had left Southall depot in west London for Victoria Station when it collided with a person who had allegedly walked off a platform at Hanwell at around 6am on Wednesday.

The steam train, operated by Southern Locomotives Ltd, was due to head to the major rail terminus before pulling the Armistice Steam Express to Canterbury for a Remembrance Day commemoration.

Its tour the day cancelled following the incident, the first fatality from a steam train in the UK in 58 years.

Several services were disrupted on the Great Western Main Line, including Elizabeth Line trains for most of Wednesday.

The last scheduled passenger steam-hauled service in the UK was the Fifteen Guinea Special which last ran in August 1968 between Liverpool and Preston.

Steam trains were banned from mainline operations by British Rail the same year, but continue to be used for special excursions, on heritage lines and tourist routes.

However steam locomotives remain in service in a select few countries worldwide including Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Korea and Poland

A statement from the firm said: ‘We are deeply saddened to confirm that a person has died after being struck by our locomotive 34028 Eddystone this morning at Hanwell Station, West London.

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