A train driver suffered “life-changing” injuries and 13 passengers, including a child, needed hospital treatment after two trains collided as they entered a tunnel in Salisbury.
British Transport Police (BTP) said on Monday that they could not rule out foul play but officers do not believe one of the trains was derailed as it hit an object on the line, as had originally been thought.
It is understood that police and the rail investigation branch are focusing on issues including the signalling and points, human error and weather conditions at the time.
Speaking outside Salisbury railway station, Supt Lisa Garrett, of BTP, said the crash happened at about 6.45pm on Sunday when the Great Western Railway (GWR) service from Southampton to Cardiff collided with a South Western Railway train from London Waterloo to Honiton in Devon as both entered the Fisherton tunnel, close to the city centre.
Garrett said: “Both trains were travelling in the same direction and one train struck the other, causing it to derail while in the tunnel. The front few carriages remained upright while the back tipped on their side.”
There were a total of 92 passengers on both trains. About 30 people attended a casualty centre set up in a nearby church. Most were “walking wounded” but 13 passengers were taken to Salisbury district hospital by ambulance, where they received treatment for minor injuries. One remained in hospital in Salisbury on Monday afternoon.
Garrett added: “The driver of the train was more seriously injured and his injuries are believed to be life-changing. He remains in hospital in a stable condition and his family have been informed.”
The driver, who was at the controls of the South Western train, had to be cut from the cab and is believed to be in hospital in Southampton.
Garrett said a senior detective had been appointed to find out how the trains came together in the tunnel. BTP said it was working with the rail investigation branch and the office of rail and road.
She said: “We are keeping an open mind but there has been nothing to suggest the train stuck an object or there was any significant delay between the trains colliding and one derailing.”
Garrett said there was no evidence the driver of the train that had been hit had activated his GPRS button, which warns signallers and other drivers of an emergency.
Asked if they had ruled out that anything criminal was involved, she said: “We haven’t ruled out foul play; until the investigation has concluded, we cannot confirm why this has happened.”
Passengers told of their horror at the crash.
Alan Crocker, a former Royal Navy sailor, who was travelling home to Exmouth, Devon, with his wife, Wendy, said they were travelling at about 20mph when the collision happened.
He said: “The impact was quite weird. There was a jolt and a juddering which I imagine was the train leaving the rails. There was a fireball and a little bit of smoke coming through the train.
“There was a smell of diesel; that was a real concern. That was my initial concern: was there a fire and was there going to be smoke? Our carriage had gone off at a 35-degree tilt.”
Dimitri Popa, 17, was in the first carriage of the London Waterloo train. “It all happened very fast. There was a big crash, then I saw flames,” he said. “We didn’t know where we were or anything, we were very shocked.”
Morgan Harris, 20, who was travelling on the same train, was thrown from his seat. “It was all going along normally then all of a sudden there was a massive bang and all of the lights went out,” he said.
“There [were] sparks and flames. Our train was on its side. I was thrown out of my seat and I banged around the table.”
Asked about railway safety, a spokesperson for the prime minister, Boris Johnson, said: “It’s obviously a top priority for this government, which is why we’ve allocated £40bn-worth of spending to ensure that the railways continue to be one of the safest in the world.”