Rail safety alert after derailment

SCREWS HOLDING DOWN TRACKS MAY HAVE BEEN TO BLAME

- PAUL BRITTON

URGENT safety advice has been issued after a freight train derailed last month - with investigators saying a number of 'failed' screws holding down rails were uncovered at the scene.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) released further details yesterday of the investigation into the incident in Audenshaw in September.

The derailment caused substantial damage to railway infrastructure and led to a large emergency services operation. Wagons full of aggregate came off the tracks on the Stockport to Stalybridge line near Sidmouth Street in Audenshaw, with nearby residents reporting hearing a sound 'like a building was coming down' and houses shaking.