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Two in hospital after train hits tractor

Kate Justice
BBC Hereford & Worcester
Reporting fromLeominster
Tanya Gupta
BBC News, West Midlands
BBC Emergency services at the scene between Leominster and Ludlow, including a fire engine and police van. The vehicles are parked on the road with a hedge behind them.BBC
Emergency vehicles are lining the approach to the scene

Two people have been taken to hospital after a train hit a tractor and trailer on a level crossing in Herefordshire, bringing rail services to a halt.

There were 56 passengers on board the Manchester-to-Cardiff service when the crash happened in Leominster on Thursday morning.

One passenger, a man, was airlifted to Hereford County Hospital although his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening, a West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) spokesperson said.

Ashley Phoenix, who was on the train, said he was woken up by "shaking and vibrating" and added: "I thought it was going to come off the tracks. People [were] screaming and shouting.

"It's not something you expect to happen on your way to work."

A woman was also taken to hospital by ambulance and her injuries were not believed to be serious.

Fifteen other people were checked over and discharged at the scene. The tractor driver was not hurt, the ambulance spokesperson added.

A man with short light brown hair and a gingery beard, wearing a pink North Face T-shirt. He is standing by a road lined with bushes and a grass verge and squinting in the sunlight.
Ashley Phoenix was on the train on his way to work when the crash happened

WMAS said it was called to the crash on the track at Nordan Farm, Leominster, just after 10:45 BST.

Transport for Wales (TfW) said services had been stopped after the 08:30 from Manchester Piccadilly struck the vehicle on a crossing between Ludlow and Leominster.

National Rail said all lines were blocked between Hereford and Craven Arms, and services between those stations would be cancelled or changed, with disruption expected until the end of the day.

A TfW spokeswoman urged people to check before travelling and said tickets would be accepted by other operators.

A fire service vehicle and a police car are parked at the entrance to a track. Another fire service vehicle can be seen in the background.
A farm track goes across the railway and is only used by agricultural vehicles

A spokesperson for British Transport Police (BTP) said inquiries were ongoing to better understand the circumstances leading up to the crash.

A spokesperson for the Rail Accident Investigation Branch said a team of inspectors was at the scene, gathering evidence.

"A decision on whether an investigation will be launched will be taken in the coming days," they added.

A welfare unit is parked in a driveway with two men in overalls standing at the open door.
Inquiries are ongoing to understand the circumstances leading to the crash

The level crossing takes a farm track across the railway and is only used by agricultural vehicles.

The facility is a user-worked crossing - in these cases, when a railway crosses private land, the owner of the land, working with a signaller, is responsible for opening and closing the gates.

The mile-long approach is difficult to access for standard cars and the route is currently blocked by emergency vehicles.

There are dozens of them, belonging to police, ambulance, Network Rail and fire crews.

Last month, investigators found numerous faults detected in a safety system on a TfW train were a contributing factor for a fatal crash in October 2024.

The trains - the Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth service and the Machynlleth to Shrewsbury service - were travelling in opposite directions on a single line and were meant to pass on an extra section of line but the braking system failed.

One man, 66, died and four other passengers were seriously injured.

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