RAIL TRAVEL CHAOS AFTER TRAIN DERAILS

Passengers' miraculous escape as Avanti service hits landslide at 80mph

- NEWS REPORTER

RAIL passengers had a miraculous escape yesterday when a train derailed after hitting a landslide at 80mph.

Last night, the train driver was hailed for his heroic efforts which helped minimise the number of casualties.

The Glasgow to London Avanti service was carrying around 95 people but only four were injured, none seriously. But the incident, which occurred in Cumbria, means the West Coast mainline - Europe's busiest rail link — will remain closed for days, causing chaos for commuters.

The train had left Glasgow at 4.28am for London Euston.

But it came off the tracks at 6.10am near the village of Shap. Initially, it was declared a “major incident” by Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander but later it was Passengers' relief after derail scare stood down. Andy Mellors, managing director for Avanti West Coast, said: “Our main priority is the safety and well-being of our customers and colleagues following this serious incident.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation and gratitude for the actions of our colleagues onboard which has been warmly received and appreciated by customers.”

He added: “I would also like to thank our staff who responded, the emergency services, Network Rail and the local hotel who laid on facilities for everyone onboard.

“We are ensuring we provide support to those affected. We'll provide further information in due course, but it is likely there will be significant disruption to our network for a number of days.”

Among those who was travelling on the train was Campbell Watson. He said that he was asleep in Coach B, at the rear of the train, when it derailed.