Train hits tree and derails near Thetford leaving one person hurt

One person has been left with minor injuries after a passenger train struck a large tree on the track and derailed.

The East Midlands Railway service partly came off the rails between Thetford and Harling Road in Norfolk on Tuesday evening, on its way to Norwich.

The company said all passengers and staff were "safely evacuated from the train".

National Rail said disruption was expected until the end of Wednesday, with travellers unable to use the line.

Thirty-one passengers were on the service, which started in Liverpool on Tuesday afternoon.

Police, ambulance and fire crews were called to the scene in south-west Norfolk at about 21:15 GMT.

Network Rail, which owns and operates rail infrastructure, said onward travel was arranged following the crash, with passengers arriving in Norwich by 01:00 on Wednesday.

It said the injured passenger was assessed with a minor hip injury and was able to "safely" board the recovery train.

British Transport Police, which also attended the scene, said the train had "partially derailed at the front" but the "carriage remained upright".

Network Rail Anglia said on X that work was under way to clear the tree and move the train to a "safe location".

It said crews would work to repair the line and reopen it "as soon as possible".

An engineer at the scene told the BBC that everyone on board had a "very, very lucky escape".

In a statement, East Midlands Railway said the 15:51 service from Liverpool Lime Street "struck a tree on the track near Thetford station causing the leading carriage to partly derail".

It said the carriage remained upright, with all customers and staff "safely evacuated from the train".

"There is damage to the track which will be fully evaluated once the train is moved," the company added.

"At this stage we do not expect that any services will be able to operate between Ely and Norwich on Wednesday while repairs are carried out."

This train would have been hammering down the track at this time, probably doing speeds of up to 90mph (145km/h).

I've seen damage to the front of the train, windows broken - it's absolutely remarkable, really, that only one of the 31 passengers received minor injuries.

Network Rail personnel here reckon the driver managed to slam the emergency brakes on pretty soon because the train travelled about a quarter of a mile further down the track.

This morning at about 05:00 the engineers here managed to jack this train up on to blocks and, bit by bit, put it back on to the track.

It sustained a lot of damage to the front wheels and the bogie at the front took the impact. Some time later today, they will get some equipment in to tow the train away.

Engineers examining the scene on Wednesday morning said the wheels were badly damaged in the crash, which meant the train would be difficult to move.

Several staff looked at the front of the train and shook their heads in disbelief.

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said two ambulances, four ambulance officer vehicles, the Hazardous Area Response Team and a response car from East Anglian Air Ambulance were sent to the scene.

"One passenger from the train was assessed for minor injuries and did not require transportation to hospital," they said.

Stephen Deaville, of Network Rail Anglia, said the company had an extensive vegetation management plan to keep trees away from tracks.

"It's always quite difficult to predict where a tree may randomly come down," he said.

"There are millions of trees next to our routes and it's not always possible to pick up every single tree which might be at risk, particularly if they've been weakened in recent storms."

Rail Accident Investigation Branch inspectors have been sent to the site to gather evidence.

They will carry out a preliminary examination before deciding whether an investigation should be launched.

A spokesperson for operator Greater Anglia, which also uses the line, said: "A train operated by another train company has derailed between Thetford and Harling Road - all lines are blocked.

"At present, we have no estimate of when the line will reopen - do not travel between Norwich and Ely as train services running through these stations have been cancelled or revised."

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