The collision at Colwich Junction near Rugeley, Staffordshire, occurred on the evening of September 19, 1986. It was significant in that it was a high speed collision between two packed express trains, but no passengers were killed, because of the great strength of modern rolling stock. Rugeley, historically known as Rudgeley, is a market town in the county of Staffordshire, England. ... Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Train (disambiguation). ... Rolling Stock banner Rolling Stock was a newspaper of ideas and a chronicle of the 1980s published in Boulder, Colorado by Ed Dorn and Jennifer Dunbar Dorn. ...

The unusual layout of the junction (for which the signalling system had recently been changed) led to the driver of a London Euston - Manchester train misreading the flashing yellow signal aspects as meaning that the line was clear for his train, when actually it was meant to stop and give way to a Liverpool - Euston express. He failed to stop in time at a subsequent red signal, his train coming to a stand on a diamond crossing. The Liverpool train, proceeding under clear signals, had no time to stop before there was a collision. The driver of the Liverpool train was the only fatality. Facade of Euston Station, London Euston Arch: the original Euston Station, as enlarged, ca 1851 Euston station concourse Euston station (also known as London Euston), is a large railway station in Central London. ... Manchester is a city in the United Kingdom, famous for being the worlds first industrial city and considered by many to be UKs second city [1][2]. It is a centre of the arts, the media and big business. ... Railway signalling is a safety system used on railways to prevent trains from colliding. ... Liverpool waterfront by night, as seen from the Wirral. ...

Technical discussion centred on whether the driver had had adequate training on the recently introduced flashing yellow signals and the implications at multiple junctions. Surprisingly, no mention was made of the lack of flank protection - the accident would not have happened if the points had been set for the train to go straight on if it overran the signal ^{[citation needed]}, as would have been normal practice in an older manual installation, rather than being diverted head-on into the Liverpool train's path.

See also

• List of rail accidents
• List of British rail accidents

1830s September 15, 1830 – England: William Huskisson becomes first passenger train death. ... This list is of railway accidents in Britain sorted chronologically. ...

External links

• BBC News: On this day: 19 September