PERSON KILLED IN TRAIN TEST RUN 29 November 2002 A person has been killed after being hit by a high-speed tilting train out on a test run in South Cheshire. Other trains travelling on the West Coast Mainline ground to a halt following the fatal accident, which took place at Goostrey, at around 6.15pm last night. It is believed that the person stepped out in front of the new Virgin Pendolino train, which may have been travelling at up to 140mph. Officers from the British Transport Police (BTP) say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the death and are not treating it as suspicious. Soldiers operating Green Goddesses were not required to attend the scene. Paramedics were called out but found the person had died before they arrived. The body has not yet been identified and officers have not yet been able to confirm whether it is a man or a woman. The coroner's office will today be informed and a post mortem is expected to take place over the next few days. A statement from British Transport Police said: "At around 6.15pm on Thursday, a fatal accident occurred on the railway line in the Goostrey area of Cheshire involving a new Pendolino service which was not in service to passengers. "Officers of the BTP attended the locus and will be reporting to HM Coroner. "There are no suspicious circumstances and the incident is being treated as a tragic accident. "The BTP wish to express their condolences to the family of the deceased and to those concerned with this tragic accident." Police closed off the area, which is near to Goostrey Train Station and runs alongside Twemlow Lane, until it was cleared and other trains travelling along the line came to a standstill for around an hour. A spokesman for Virgin Trains said: "The driver took a Pendolino out for a test run and it seems that somebody just stepped out in front of it at Goostrey. "As soon as it happened, we informed the transport police and they took over. Our driver is very shaken up by it and for incidents like this we have a chain of care services, so we will send someone out to talk to him. He added that the accident had caused some delays for other trains, however, that they were back in operation shortly afterwards.
Hi Alan, I belong to this EGroup from Yahoo this is where John got the report: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/railmishaps/?yguid=126293046
