FGW rail replacement bus hit by lorry

[Tetchytyke]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-30474952

Three people have been injured after a broken-down rail replacement bus was hit by a lorry on the A34 in Oxfordshire.

Fifty people were onboard the First Great Western rail replacement service from Oxford to Didcot, when it was hit at Drayton at 00:30 GMT.

One of the three people taken to hospital had serious but non life-threatening injuries, police said.

Investigations are under way and the southbound carriageway remains closed.

The remaining passengers, who did not require hospital treatment, were taken to Abingdon Police Station.

The bus was a replacement for the 00:05 First Great Western service from Oxford to Didcot.

Bus passenger Adam Graves said on Twitter: "One moment the bus power failed, a minute or 2 later the lorry hit us. Bus ended up part down the embankment. #a34"

He described the situation as "nuts".

The A34 is shut between the Botley and Milton interchanges and is expected to remain closed until 11:00. Diversions are in place.

Police on site are having problems with drivers ignoring the closure and driving through, according to BBC Radio Oxford travel reporter Sara Dumbell.

 

[Saint66]

There's a few images available on twitter of the crash scene, looks like it was a hard hit. Thank god everyone has survived.

 

[jimm]

More here, with pictures taken this morning.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11...olving_a_lorry_and_bus_at_Drayton_closes_A34/

 

[Bletchleyite]

I can't help be reminded of Half Man Half Biscuit for how unfortunate this sort of thing is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XNgS2VBuVM

"I finally managed to reach the station, only to find that the bus replacement service had broken down"...

In all seriousness, though, it's good to hear nobody was killed and hopefully the few injured will recover quickly.

Neil

 

[Trainfan344]

The link posted above: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11666461.Serious_collision_involving_a_lorry_and_bus_at_Drayton_closes_A34/

Has been updated:

A PASSENGER has this morning told of being flung around as a rail coach was hit by a lorry on the A34.

Five people were taken to hospital after the DHL lorry hit the JD Travel coach – which was running a replacement railo service from Oxford to Didcot – on the side of the A34 near Drayton at about 12.30am today.

One patient is in a life-threatening condition, another two have serious injuries and two have minor injuries.

Not good, thoughts with the people involved.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I wonder how well signposted was it after the incident, if police were having to deal with drivers still driving through the precluded area. Will these drivers be subject to penalties for their transgressions?

It was very sad to read that one person on the coach is in a life-threatening condition.

 

[ValleyLines142]

It was very sad to read that one person on the coach is in a life-threatening condition.

The report said the passenger is/was in a serious but NON-life threatening condition.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Bit of T-Cut and it'll be fine.

 

[GearJammer]

The report said the passenger is/was in a serious but NON-life threatening condition.

I can't see in ANY of the reports where it says its a 'passenger' who is/isn't in a serious condition....... it just says a 'patient'.

 

[TUC]

Unfortunate that the media reported this as a rail-replacement bus-something that the thread title equally unfortunately reproduces. As sad as the incident is for those involved, the fact is that it is a bus incident and nothing to do with the rail industry except for who happened to be hiring the vehicle. The media is obsessed with associating accidents with rail travel even when it's something that's nothing to do with trains.

 

[MK Tom]

In fact it's a rather good example of how much safer rail travel is than road transport.

Nevertheless this is a very sad incident for the passengers involved, and for the bus operator, who seem to have just been unlucky through no fault of their own.

 

[bnm]

Unfortunate that the media reported this as a rail-replacement bus-something that the thread title equally unfortunately reproduces. As sad as the incident is for those involved, the fact is that it is a bus incident and nothing to do with the rail industry except for who happened to be hiring the vehicle. The media is obsessed with associating accidents with rail travel even when it's something that's nothing to do with trains.

Or, in this case, the BBC reported the incident factually.

Why shouldn't they say it was a rail replacement service? Are you suggesting that they hide that fact? There's zero association with the rail industry's safety record. No negative comment suggesting this wouldn't have happened had it been a scheduled coach or bus service.

You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

 

[PG]

Firstly thoughts out to all involved and hope for those injured to make a recovery.

As TUC has pointed out, but for the hirer of the bus/coach this has precious little to do with the rail industry - can't help wondering if the media has a viewpoint that somehow rail passengers are more important than bus/coach passengers so that's why they seek to stress the association??

 

[GearJammer]

Or, in this case, the BBC reported the incident factually.

Why shouldn't they say it was a rail replacement service? Are you suggesting that they hide that fact? There's zero association with the rail industry's safety record. No negative comment suggesting this wouldn't have happened had it been a scheduled coach or bus service.

You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

Agreed, if it had been a private hire coach with OAPs on a day out or school children or a National express coach then it would have been described as such.

Its only made it onto rail forums as it was a rail replacement bus..... if it had been one of the above I doubt anyone on this forum would have given it a second thought.

 

[TUC]

Agreed, if it had been a private hire coach with OAPs on a day out or school children or a National express coach then it would have been described as such.

Its only made it onto rail forums as it was a rail replacement bus..... if it had been one of the above I doubt anyone on this forum would have given it a second thought.

I don't think it would have been reported that way. The fact it had pensioners or school children on would have formed the headline. The fact it was a private hire coach would have only been in the detail of the story. The fact that in this case it was a rail replacement coach should have been similarly irrelevant for the headline.

 

[dtaylor84]

The fact that it is a rail replacement bus seems relevant, if only because the passengers on the bus never intended to get on a bus. And having "suffered" their train being replaced by a bus, it too ran into problems.

I see absolutely no problem with the headline...

 

[Tetchytyke]

Its only made it onto rail forums as it was a rail replacement bus..... if it had been one of the above I doubt anyone on this forum would have given it a second thought.

Nonsense. Bus crashes are mentioned in the bus forum when they are notable, e.g. when the Uno double-decker toppled over last month.

The fact that it was a rail replacement bus is a relevant fact. It doesn't mean it was First Great Western's fault.

 

[dgl]

While there is no real reason why it should have happened the fact that it had lost all power and of course all lighting in the middle of the night on a supposedly unlit road was probably a contributing factor.

 

[Bletchleyite]

While there is no real reason why it should have happened the fact that it had lost all power and of course all lighting in the middle of the night on a supposedly unlit road was probably a contributing factor.

With road vehicle lighting moving to low-power LED, time there was a small rechargeable backup battery/capacitor in the light fitting itself to prevent this?

Neil

 

[21C101]

Given it was carrying rail passengers with rail tickets, i reckon RAIB should investigate.

I wonder whether the greater risk associated with bus replacement vs diverting trains to alternative routes (which is more expensive in driver route training) is fully considered?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

With road vehicle lighting moving to low-power LED, time there was a small rechargeable backup battery/capacitor in the light fitting itself to prevent this?

Neil

If there was a road equivalent of RAIB they could investigate and make such recommendations. All they seem to do on the roads is prosecute the driver they think is at fault and dont seem to consider the wider issues.

 

[quarella]

There is a simple answer to this. Train cancelled. That's it until the line reopens and trains run again whether that be in a couple of hours or several days.

You do have freedom of choice. A rail replacement bus may be laid on to enable you to make your journey but nobody is forcing you on to it.

If this had just been a breakdown I doubt we would have heard anything of it. I expect another coach, if able to would have offered assistance to at least get the passengers to a place of safety. If the train it was replacing had broken down we would be reading a thread about keeping passengers prisoner etc.

It is true rail travel is safer than road although the potential for a road collision is far greater so being stuck on a failed train is safer than being stuck on a bus at the roadside safety covers other elements. Although it virtually doubles her journey time a friend of mine will catch a bus if travelling late evening as she feels less threatened and there is a visible member of staff.

 

[dtaylor84]

I'm still trying to understand why people are treating this as criticism of the railway industry. It's a report of something that happened!

 

[edwin_m]

It is true rail travel is safer than road although the potential for a road collision is far greater so being stuck on a failed train is safer than being stuck on a bus at the roadside safety covers other elements.

In the period 2003-2012 the fatality rates in the UK per billion passenger-km were:

Car: 2.0
Bus/coach: 0.2
Rail: 0.0

(source: table TSGB0107 in https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/tsgb01-modal-comparisons)

So bus and coach are more dangerous than rail but still a good deal safer than driving.