Welshpool line to remain closed all week as rail tragedy victim named

The railway line running through Welshpool will remain closed until Friday night, at least, as the investigation into the collision that killed one man and seriously injured four more continues.

And this evening, local sources have named the victim as Tudor Evans, from the Aberystwyth area, as the passenger in his 60s that was sadly killed when the two trains collided near Llanbrynmair on Monday night.

He was travelling on the 18:31 westbound service from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth when it hit a stationary train heading from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury at about 15mph. Early investigations are centering around why one of the trains may have slid on the tracks when the breaks were applied near a loop which allows trains to pass.

It has also been revealed that a driver of one train was “quite badly injured” and a conductor suffered a fracture, Transport for Wales (TfW) has confirmed.

A joint statement from Network Rail and Transport for Wales: “The Cambrian line between Machynlleth and Shrewsbury will remain closed until at least the end of Friday, October  25, following a collision between two trains on Monday night.

“The incident is currently under investigation by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and will move to a recovery operation to remove the affected trains over the coming days.

“Both TfW and Network Rail would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone in the local community for the overwhelming level of support they have provided during this difficult incident.

“A replacement bus operation will remain in place calling at all stations on the route and customers should check before they travel and allow for journeys to take longer than usual.

“Services between Machynlleth and Pwllheli/Aberystwyth and between Shrewsbury and Birmingham International will continue to run as planned.”