Little Cornard derailment

The vehicle, a tanker lorry, had begun crossing over the track when the Class 156 train from Sudbury destined for Marks Tey struck it whilst travelling at a speed of approximately 40 miles per hour (64 km/h).

At 17:33 BST on 17 August 2010,[1] Class 156 'Super Sprinter' diesel multiple unit number 156417 was in collision with a tanker lorry that was on a level crossing on the Gainsborough Line, approximately halfway between Sudbury and Bures stations.

The gated level crossing is on a private road leading to sewage works owned by Anglian Water, near the village of Little Cornard between Sudbury and Bures.

[1] British Transport Police arrested the lorry driver, who was questioned in connection with several alleged offences and later charged with endangering the safety of the railway.

[5] On 29 October, at Ipswich Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of the railway and was granted conditional bail.

[10] Bob Crow, general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, said the accident was "avoidable" and called for a programme to eliminate all level crossings from the British railway network.

[11] Keith Norman, general secretary of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen said that he was saddened that lessons had not been learned from previous accidents, and criticised Network Rail for failing to modernise many level crossings.

[12] British Transport Police opened an investigation into the events before the accident,[2] which centred on whether or not Anglian Water gave proper training to visitors to the sewage works in relation to the correct use of the level crossing.

It concluded that the primary cause of the accident was that the lorry driver drove onto the crossing when it was unsafe to do so.