Transport
Details Revealed Behind NYE Train Crash
No-one was injured in the crash
The DoI has revealed that the train which struck a fallen tree on New Years’ Eve had suffered a double lamp failure.
Details have been released following an FoI into the crash which happened at about 10pm on NYE.
The Greatest Showman’s New Year Spectacular train collided with a tree near Ballabeg Station, causing damage to the engine and carriages.
In.a report from a staff member, the report revealed that steam engine Maitland’s lamps had failed at Ballasalla and been replaced with an LED drip on the front.
The staff member said: ‘We spotted ivy covered branches about five to six meters in front of us on the track. The driver firmly applied the vacuum brakes [and] we collided with the debris (difficult to see the actual size) with a medium to large bang.’
As the staff inspected the damage, they saw the engine had suffered buffer beam damage, while the carriages had also suffered some damage.
As the train was unable to move, staff from the DoI were called to remove the tree while staff onboard checked on passengers.
No-one was injured in the crash and the train continued onto Port Erin where, after a subsequent check, it returned to Douglas.
