The Connington South rail crash occurred on 5 March 1967 on the East Coast Main Line near the village of Conington, Huntingdonshire, England.
[1] The 22:30 express from King's Cross to Edinburgh, hauled by D9004 The Queens Own Highlander, was travelling along the Down Fast line at around 75 mph when the rear portion of the train was derailed to the left.
Tests were conducted using a similar signalling frame to the one at Connington South and it was found that an experienced signalman could just about manage to reproduce the sequence.
[5] It was clear that the signalman had stood for some seconds with the points lever slightly out of its frame, moved it just as the sixth coach was passing over it, then returned it to its normal position.
After a trial lasting 11 days, the judge instructed the jury to acquit him on the charges of manslaughter and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment for unlawfully operating the signal and points mechanism of the Connington South signal box so as to endanger persons being conveyed on a railway, on which charge the signalman had changed his plea to guilty.