The state-of-the-art Virgin Pendolino tilting train, heading from London to Glasgow, derailed at 95 mph (150 kph) shortly after 8 p.m. on Friday in a remote area of Cumbria and a number of carriages slid down an embankment.

Emergency workers had to battle difficult conditions including torrential rain to try and reach around 120 passengers, some of whom were trapped in the overturned carriages.

Police later said one elderly woman had died and 22 people were injured, including five who had been seriously hurt.

Asked about the cause of the crash, Police Superintendent John Rush told a news conference: "We are unsure how that exactly has happened."

The leader of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union, Bob Crow, said it was thought a points failure was to blame.

"It's not vandalism and it's certainly not a cow," he told Sky News. "There's been some kind of points failure, what the reason is for that points failure we don't know."

Rush said the line would be closed for up to six days while investigations were carried out.

"You were suddenly aware of a jolt and the train started swaying really quite dramatically," BBC executive Caroline Thomson, a passenger, told BBC News 24 Television. She said the train then flipped over and came to rest on its side.

"The emergency vehicles are coming up and there are a lot of flashing lights. One carriage is lying quite dramatically ... off the line," she said from the scene, in farmland near the town of Kendal on the edge of the Lake District.

Royal Air Force Sea king helicopters ferried the injured to hospital. Twelve ambulances and 80 firefighters were rushed to the scene of the crash.

A Virgin spokesman told Sky News: "This is the first incident involving a Pendolino train and we have to very quickly understand why this has happened." But he said there was no question of withdrawing the trains from service.

The Pendolino (Italian for "tilting") was developed in Italy by Fiat Ferroviaria, which was bought by French firm Alstom in 2000. Virgin uses Pendolinos on its mainline routes.

Virgin Trains is 49 percent-owned by bus and train operator Stagecoach Group Plc and 51 percent by Richard Branson's Virgin Group.

See also:

One dead in Cumbria train crash

BBC News: 24 February 2007

Part of the train is left raised in the air at a sharp angle

An elderly woman has died and five other passengers have been seriously hurt in a train derailment in Cumbria.

Several carriages were left on their side after a Virgin London to Glasgow service crashed at Grayrigg, near Kendal, at 2015 GMT, at about 95mph.

Police said 22 people went to hospital and dozens more were "walking wounded".

Investigators say no cause has yet been established, but police said their inquiry was focusing on a set of points which could be "significant".

Rail union chief Bob Crow had earlier said he had been told the accident was because of a points failure.

"It's very sad to see such an incident on what has become a very safe network" - Ibrahim, Bolton

One of the passengers, BBC executive Caroline Thomson, said the train "did a sort of bump".

"It suddenly appeared to hit something and then lurched very, very badly from side to side in a very dramatic way."

The train had about 120 people on board, Supt Jon Rush, of Cumbria Police, told a news conference.

He said 22 passengers had been taken to three hospitals. The Royal Lancaster Infirmary and the Royal Preston Hospital took the most serious casualties. A total of five people had serious injuries.

Police are still trying to establish the identity of the passenger who was killed, but they said she was an elderly female.

The line where the crash happened could be closed for five or six days, said Supt Rush. He added that investigators were trying to establish the cause of the crash.

The leader of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union, Bob Crow, told ITV News: "All our indications are that people on the scene are saying that it was a points failure.

"And I think people can dismiss the idea that it was a cow on the track or vandalism."

The train came to rest after rolling down an embankment

All but one of the train's carriages had totally come off the tracks, a Cumbria Ambulance Service spokeswoman said.

Speaking at just after midnight she added that all nine train carriages had been cleared of passengers.

She said there were 65 people with minor injuries who were treated at the scene and a nearby farm, before being taken to the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal.

Emergency crews said they faced difficult conditions, with pouring rain, waterlogged ground and narrow country lanes around the crash site.

'Very strange sound'

The Pendolino tilting trains have been introduced by Virgin over the last three years and have a top speed of 125 mph.

Network Rail said the line speed for the area where the crash took place was about 95 mph.

Virgin Trains have suspended services between Lancaster and Lockerbie, with replacement buses operating. Trains are running as normal to and from Lockerbie, and between London and Lancaster.

A spokesman said passengers travelling between Scotland and London could use GNER East Coast trains instead.

CONTACT NUMBERS
Cumbria Police helpline: 0800 056 0146
Police family liaison centre: 0800 40 50 40
National Rail Enquiries: 08457 48 49 50

Those living close to the site described hearing the crash.

Adam Pashley, 19, said: "It was one hell of a bang but I never thought it would be a serious incident.

"About 15 minutes later I was looking out of my bedroom window and suddenly I started to see police and ambulance crews."

Donald Potter said: "My house is only about 120 yards from the track and I was sitting at my desk when I heard a very strange sound, it was completely unidentifiable, like nothing I have ever heard before, and lasted for about ten seconds."

People worried about friends or relatives on the train are asked to ring a Cumbria Police helpline on 0800 056 0146 or a British Transport Police family liaison centre on 0800 40 50 40.

Passengers wanting to travel through Cumbria, meanwhile, can ring National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 before starting journeys.

See also:

Inquiry Focuses On Points

Sky News: February 24, 2007

Scene of the derailment

An investigation into a train derailment in Cumbria which left one elderly woman dead is focusing on a set of points.

The London to Glasgow Virgin service came off the tracks at 95 miles an hour - the lead engine first followed by the remaining eight.

A total of 22 passengers were taken to hospital. One, an 80-year-old woman, died and five remain in a serious condition.

The accident happened near Little Docker Cottage, around the area of Grayrigg, near Kendal, at around 20:10 last night, and there were an estimated 120 people on board.

Many were able to free themselves and suffered shock and minor injuries.

Chief Superintendent Martyn Ripley, of British Transport Police, said: "It's little short of a miracle, we're amazed that we didn't have fatalities at the scene. We've been very, very fortunate.

Five people are seriously injured

He added: "We believe a set of points could be significant in this inquiry but we won't be releasing any more details on that until much later in the inquiry."

Mr Ripley said it was far too early to tell exactly what had happened and that it would be easier for officers to conduct their inquiries in the daylight.

No further details about the dead woman's identity would be released until next of kin had been informed.

Mr Ripley confirmed that routine maintenance had been carried out in the past week on the section of track where the train derailed.

But, at this stage, it is not thought to be a factor in the derailment.

Superintendent Jon Rush, from Cumbria Police said: "The initial assessment looks like the carriages have just left the rail line and fallen down the embankment and it looks like the main engine at the front has almost doubled back on itself."

Maintenance work had been carried out on the tracks

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "Inspectors from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch are on site and have begun their investigation into the causes of the crash."

Emergency crews were initially delayed as the track was electrified and they had to work in dark, wet conditions to reach those trapped.

Alan Rawsthorne, an area manager with the local fire service, said that the carriages of the train stayed together, as they were designed to do, and did not break up.

Virgin Train regional director Chris Coleman added: "Our services use high powered trains and they are very safe and a speed of 95mph at that point on the line is what it should be doing.

"Ordinarily that is very safe. We are shocked and very keen to find out how at that speed this train has come off the track in such tragic circumstances."

Early estimates suggest that the track will remain closed for five or six days.

The emergency telephone number for people concerned about passengers and wanting to know where they are is 0800 056 0146 or, from outside the UK, 0044 207 158 0198.