Incident between Wigan Wallgate and Southport (29th August 2026)

Newshound Mutt · Saturday at 17:32

Reports are coming in of a train - Road vehicle collision at Burscough on the Wigan - Southport line.

Quite a serious incident with significant damage to front of train. (Pictures taken from 'Ormskirk Live' Facebook Page)

https://www.facebook.com/OrmskirkLi...23309570217&notif_t=comment_mention&ref=notif

Incident on Southport to Manchester line before New Lane station.

Lots of emergency vehicles. Hope all is ok

Sadly a man has died after a train travelling from Southport hit a van on the Southport to Manchester railway line.

The incident happened on a crossing on Martine lane in Burscough, West Lancashire, just after 3pm.
British Transport Police said a man who was in the van died at the scene, and two passengers on the Wigan Wallgate-Southport train suffered minor injuries.

A BTP spokesman said: "Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of what happened."
The incident saw a large emergency services operation launched, with police, fire and ambulance vehicles on the scene and around nearby fields.
Passengers were seen being helped down from the train by emergency services personel.

Operator Northern said there would be "major disruption", with "all lines blocked" by an "incident between Wigan Wallgate and Southport".
Our thoughts are with the people on the train, the train driver and the man who sadly died.

RailUK Forums

Efini92 · Saturday at 18:42

Sadly an incident a martins lane crossing has been years in the making. The gates are forever being left open. It’s about time they removed it all together.

sad1e · Saturday at 18:44

769434 seems to be the unit involved in this incident.

Amos390 · Saturday at 18:49

sad1e said:
769434 seems to be the unit involved in this incident.

Would appear so, operating service 2O79

142 007 · Saturday at 18:50

15.03 Southport to Manchester Oxford Road involved

800001 · Saturday at 19:05

Efini92 said:
Sadly an incident a martins lane crossing has been years in the making. The gates are forever being left open. It’s about time they removed it all together.

What do you mean they are for ever being left open?

Are you inferring they do not get closed as and when a train approaches?

Efini92 · Saturday at 19:08

800001 said:
What do you mean they are for ever being left open?

Are you inferring they do not get closed as and when a train approaches?

That’s correct

800001 · Saturday at 19:09

Efini92 said:
That’s correct

If that is correct that sounds like a very fundamental flaw which should have been reported to the relevant authorities on each and every occasion this occurs.

6Gman · Saturday at 19:10

800001 said:
What do you mean they are for ever being left open?

Are you inferring they do not get closed as and when a train approaches?

It looks as though it's user-worked, in which case they should be closed after use by the road user.

But - as in many such instances - the users don't bother.

(I don't know the area, so I may be wrong.)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Saturday at 19:11 ==

800001 said:
If that is correct that sounds like a very fundamental flaw which should have been reported to the relevant authorities on each and every occasion this occurs.

Reported by whom?

800001 · Saturday at 19:11

6Gman said:
It looks as though it's user-worked, in which case they should be closed after use by the road user.

But - as in many such instances - the users don't bother.

(I don't know the area, so I may be wrong.)

So user fault and not a fault or issue created by Network Rail?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Saturday at 19:12 ==

6Gman said:
It looks as though it's user-worked, in which case they should be closed after use by the road user.

But - as in many such instances - the users don't bother.

(I don't know the area, so I may be wrong.)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Saturday at 19:11 ==

Reported by whom?

By the person who is saying that there is an issue or fault with the relevant crossing!

saismee · Saturday at 19:15

I hope the driver is okay.

Efini92 · Saturday at 19:15

800001 said:
If that is correct that sounds like a very fundamental flaw which should have been reported to the relevant authorities on each and every occasion this occurs.

It’s a user worked crossing leading to a farm rather than a through road.
It does get reported and it used to be a common occurrence that trains would stop and close them.

800001 · Saturday at 19:18

Efini92 said:
It’s a user worked crossing leading to a farm rather than a through road.
It does get reported and it used to be a common occurrence that trains would stop and close them.

That's wasn't inferred in original post or made clear:

Efini92 · Saturday at 19:25

800001 said:
That's wasn't inferred in original post or made clear:

Is there any other information you’d like including in future posts?

saismee · Saturday at 19:27

800001 said:
That's wasn't inferred in original post or made clear:

No it wasn't super clear, but it would be a shocking safety hazard if barriers were left up by a signaller, and a failing of the signalling system. The word "gates" led me to infer that it was a UWC though.

Also, it would be "implied"

chris53 · Saturday at 19:37

6Gman said:
It looks as though it's user-worked, in which case they should be closed after use by the road user.

But - as in many such instances - the users don't bother.

(I don't know the area, so I may be wrong.)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Saturday at 19:11 ==

Reported by whom?

I know the area well, it is user worked. I have certainly seen the gates left open but don't know if it is a regular occurence. Since it is the only access to some properties and some fields , not sure how they would be accessed if the crossing were closed

Jamesrob637 · Saturday at 19:38

Ouch, on air show day too, when trains would have been extra busy.

142 007 · Saturday at 19:39

Being reported by the Liverpool Echo that a van driver has died

Halwynd · Saturday at 19:53

A brief article from the BBC:

A man has died after a train hit a van on a railway line.

The incident happened on a crossing in Burscough, West Lancashire, just after 15:00 BST.

British Transport Police (BTP) said a man who was in the van died at the scene, and two passengers on the Wigan Wallgate-Southport train suffered minor injuries.

A BTP spokesman said: "Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of what happened."

Man dies in Burscough after train hits van on crossing

British Transport Police said a man who was in a van died at the scene, in Burscough.

www.bbc.co.uk

norbitonflyer · Saturday at 21:39

800001 said:
That's wasn't inferred in original post or made clear:

I drew that inference from the comment that the gates were often left open (and indeed had jumped to the cloclusion it was probably user-worked because most such accidents happen at such crossings

43096 · Saturday at 21:41

saismee said:
I hope the driver is okay.

The van driver isn't.

JBuchananGB · Saturday at 22:10

I see what National Rail are saying. Normally one train every 2 hours each way on Sundays. On Northern Rail's website this incident is not listed either as Major Disruption or a Minor Disruption. A points failure between Morecambe and Lancaster is a Major Disruption. I have a live departure board display for Wigan Wallgate, and when I noticed all Southport services cancelled, I went to Northern's web site to find out why. No joy there. Then I saw the BBC news item.

Rail2002 · Saturday at 22:12

I wonder what made the emergency exit door break off. The unit seems to have held up well structurally though. A sad loss of life for the van driver, condolences.

JBuchananGB · Saturday at 22:32

A few notes from a thread I posted in 2019 regarding the Bett's Lane crossing which is the next UWC crossing from this incident:-

There are public crossings nearby at New Lane (AHBC) at 28m 70ch, Martins Lane (UWG/MWL-X) at 29m 70ch and Boundary Farm (footpath at 30m 02ch) crossings. Martin's Lane may be a private crossing, I'm not sure, but it leads to a few houses, farmland and Sephton's potato merchants so may not be restricted to just authorised users. Quote from @Llama.

Spandau · Saturday at 22:43

According to the Liverpool Echo the vehicle involved was a supermarket delivery van - so a ‘professional’ driver.

“The ECHO has now spoken to an eyewitness who was on the train and witnessed the horror up close. Young mum Sophie Cassidy was at the front of the train as it crashed into the van at the level crossing.

Sophie, 26, who had been attending the Southport Air Show with her one-year-old son and four-year-old daughter was making her way back to her home in Burscough when the terrifying incident took place.
She said the man was driving a supermarket delivery van and she saw him approaching the level crossing from the window of the train as she was sat right at the front behind the driver's cab with her children.”

Passenger Sophie Cassidy captured the aftermath of a horror train crash in which a delivery van driver was killed

Mum saw horrifying moment van driver was killed in train crash

Sophie Cassidy was at the front of the train as she saw a van driver cross in front and collide with it, describing the terrifying moment as people screamed and cried on board

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

Mcr Warrior · Saturday at 23:05

142 007 said:
15.03 Southport to Manchester Oxford Road involved

Just to clarify, was it a Northern train that had only recently left from Southport, or a train on its way into Southport? The BBC report, linked to in post #19 by @Halwynd, suggests the latter.

Spandau · Saturday at 23:13

It was a Southport-Manchester Oxford Road service. BTP got it wrong in their statement suggesting the train was travelling towards Southport

D6130 · Saturday at 23:19

JBuchananGB said:
see what National Rail are saying. Normally one train every 2 hours each way on Sundays. On Northern Rail's website

Err.... it's Saturday today!

gray1404 · Saturday at 23:29

Mcr Warrior said:
Just to clarify, was it a Northern train that had only recently left from Southport, or a train on its way into Southport? The BBC report, linked to in post #19 by @Halwynd, suggests the latter.

15.03 Southport to Manchester Oxford Road

JBuchananGB · 2026-08-30T09:25:28+0100

It seems that as a side effect of this incident both Bescar Lane and New Lane AHBC crossings were, and probably still are, closed to road traffic. Barriers down.

A couple of years ago two other user worked crossings along the line, Crabtree and Shaw's, were closed for vehicle traffic to improve safety.

My remark about there being only one train every two hours on Sundays related to the expectation that the line will be closed all day today, but that the reduction in service might not be noticed by the travelling public, even though it is the Southport airshow today.

Special fares apply on all MerseyRail services to Southport. £2 adult, £1 child from anywhere on Merseyrail.

Incident between Wigan Wallgate and Southport (29th August 2026)

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