Neha Patil (Editor)

Glasgow Bellgrove rail accident

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Country
  
Scotland

Date
  
6 March 1989

Rail line
  
North Clyde Line

Location
  
Glasgow

Operator
  
Regional Railways

Total number of deaths
  
2

Trains
  
2

Glasgow Bellgrove rail accident httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumb0

Cause
  
Signal Passed At Danger

Similar
  
Invergowrie rail accident, Purley station rail crash, San Bernardino train disa, Clapham Junction rail crash, Ladbroke Grove rail crash

On 6 March 1989 two Class 303 commuter trains crashed on the Springburn branch of the North Clyde Line, just east of Bellgrove station in the East End of Glasgow, Scotland. One passenger and the driver of one of the trains were killed.

The accident was of a type known as "ding-ding, and away"; caused primarily by a Signal passed at danger (SPAD) in conjunction with the single-lead junction track layout, where two lines converged into one just beyond the platform end and then diverged again – a layout which is simpler to maintain but is vulnerable in the event of a SPAD. This type of junction has been implicated in other accidents, notably to the south east of Glasgow in the Newton rail accident just a couple of years later. The collision was at 80mph as both trains were travelling at 40mph. The force of the impact was so severe that at least one passenger was thrown out his seat and completely destroyed one of the "A" frame back to back seats.

References

Glasgow Bellgrove rail accident Wikipedia