Fatigued train driver who crashed into King's Cross buffers 'had mini-sleep', rail accident report finds

Railway staff at London's King's Cross station assess the train
PA
Francesca Gillett23 October 2017

The driver of a train which crashed into buffers as it pulled into King’s Cross station had a mini-sleep, an investigation into the crash has found.

Four passengers and one member of staff suffered minor injuries in the small crash when the train from Royston, Hertfordshire pulled in to the busy London commuter station at 6.23am on August 15.

The woman was suffering from fatigue and coming to the end of a "relatively demanding night shift" when the collision occurred, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said.

The train was travelling at just four mph when it crashed, but the impact pushed the buffers back by over one metre, the report said.

The driver, who was not identified by the RAIB, "briefly closed her eyes because they felt tired" in the seconds before the collision.

The train hit the buffers at platform nine.
PA

When she opened them she made an emergency brake application but it was too late to avoid hitting the buffers.

The RAIB revealed that it was her first night shift after a period of rest days and she was "not sufficiently well rested".

It noted that the Rail Safety and Standards Board "advocates a limit of eight hours for the first night shift" due to concerns over fatigue, but the woman's shift was due to be 35 minutes longer.

The driver told the RAIB that her tasks were "more intensive than other night shifts" with less opportunity for rest.

She had two years' experience of driving trains on the lines out of London King's Cross.

Speaking on the day of the crash, passenger Natasha Coella, 36, said: "We just all went flying. It's as if while we were slowing down it kind of accelerated again.

"No one expected it and people just went from one end of the carriage to the other."

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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