Panic but no injuries as 80mph train derails on 'landslip-prone' track

Passengers have described their panic and distress when a train travelling at about 80mph partly derailed after hitting a landslide in Cumbria.

- Josh Halliday Raphael Boyd

Emergency services declared a major incident after the high-speed Avanti West Coast service crashed in stormy conditions at 6.15am yesterday. None of the 77 passengers and 10 crew on the 11-carriage Glasgow to London Euston service were injured.

The derailment prompted the MP Tim Farron, in whose constituency the incident occurred, to question whether enough was being spent on the busy stretch of west coast mainline between Carlisle and Glasgow, which is prone to landslips. Farron, the former Liberal Democrat leader, said he had felt "utter dread and horror" when the first reports emerged, and then enormous relief and gratitude that there were no injuries.

One of those onboard the train described a "flash and a bang" while the service was travelling at speed through Shap, the west coast mainline's highest point in England.