[1] The accident happened after a wagon laden with lengths of steel rail ran away from a maintenance location on the line at Scout Green because it did not have properly working brakes.

[2] As a maintenance worker began using an excavator's "log grab" in an attempt to drag sections of scrap rail from the wagon, the action caused the wooden blocks to dislodge.

Running almost silently and without any warnings, it struck and killed four railway workers who were carrying out overnight work 3.25 miles (5 km) further down the main line.

[citation needed] Following the incident, Mark Connolly, the boss of the rail maintenance company, MAC Machinery Services, and crane operator Roy Kennett, were tried at Newcastle Crown Court on charges of manslaughter caused by gross negligence.

[5] In January 2017, the Office of the Traffic Commissioner for Wales announced it had rejected an application by Connolly for a Heavy Goods Vehicle Operators' Licence because of his manslaughter convictions.