06.02.2007

Train hits access platform

The operator of an access platform that was hit by a passenger train has been arrested. The 54-year-old platform operator was using the platform to repair the motorway bridge over the railway line when the train hit it at around 30mph. The collision occurred at about 10pm on Monday evening.

A 17-year-old boy aboard the train - the 2157 Paddock Wood to Gillingham - was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital after the crash although he was discharged from hospital this morning. Both the train’s driver and conductor were treated for shock.

Rail services in the area were disrupted today and the coastbound carriageway of the M20 was closed between junctions 5-6 until 11am this morning causing long traffic jams.

Initial inquiries suggest the crane driver set up the lift on the rail bridge when it was intended to be placed on a nearby road bridge.

The driver, from Darlington, who has not been named, was arrested on suspicion of endangering safety and obstructing the railways and was released on bail.