Ньютон қаласының теміржол апаты (1975)

British rail disaster

The Nuneaton rail crash occurred on 6 June 1975, on the West Coast Main Line just south of Nuneaton railway station in Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom. The crash happened when the 23:30 sleeper from London Euston to Glasgow derailed after entering a temporary speed restriction at 4 times the speed limit. Six people (four passengers and two staff) died and 38 were injured. In the subsequent inquiry, the crash was deemed to have been caused by driver error, partially due to the failure of gas lit lamps that illuminated the lineside signage warning of the speed restriction.

The crash occurred at approximately 01:54, as the British Rail passenger train approached Nuneaton station. The train, which was running over an hour late because of a locomotive failure further south, was composed of two Class 86 electric locomotives (nos. 86006 and 86242; both later repaired) and fifteen carriages, including twelve Mark 1 sleeping cars, two Brake Gangwayed and a Restaurant miniature buffet. Just south of Nuneaton station, a temporary speed restriction of was in place for a distance of just over a mile because of a track remodelling scheme. The warning board was placed at the standard 'service braking distance' of a mile and a quarter before the restriction. This board should have been illuminated, but was not. The driver, John McKay, claimed that he assumed this meant the restriction had been lifted and did not need to slow the train. It was not until he saw the correctly illuminated 'commencement board' at the start of the restriction that he realized it was still in place, but by then it was too late.