Train track drama after 'crossing failure' crash in Redcar sees drones drafted in for police probe
A car was "dragged along by train" after a dramatic crash at a Redcar level crossing.
A large cordon was erected around the crossing at Redcar Central station on Wednesday after a Northern train collided with a car. The train - which was travelling from Saltburn to Nunthorpe - had nine customers on board at the time of the incident.
Emergency services flooded West Dyke Road around 9.25am, with pictures showing the large-scale 999 response as police officers - from both British Transport Police and Cleveland Police - used drones to probe the scene. Northern has since confirmed that there were no reports of any physical injuries - although paramedics attended the scene.
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Fire service tape covered both sides of the train line, with police also cordoning off parts of the Redcar Central station. The grey Suzuki involved in the crash was left with a cracked windscreen - with witnesses believing that the railing prevented the car from being "dragged any further" down the track.
One bystander saw the incident unfold, saying: "What I can gather is that nothing happened. There were no lights, not as far as I can remember. No lights, no alarms. They went along the crossing as normal and a train came and hit them. It was about 9.30am. I heard a crash and ran to the door and saw the car being dragged along by the train. It made me jump a bit, it was loud."
Another person - who was walking to the Morrisons supermarket but was stopped in his tracks due to the incident, said it was "only a matter of time." He added: "The gates are always failing. I’ll be stopping every time now."
The incident meant that all trains running to and from Saltburn were cancelled or revised, with routes affected including the Northern train between Darlington/Bishop Auckland and Stockton and the TransPennine Express between Manchester Victoria and Saltburn.
A British Transport Police spokesperson said: "Officers were called to a level crossing near Redcar at around 9.25am today (1 May) following reports that a car had been struck by a train. Thankfully no injuries have been reported. Enquiries into this incident are ongoing."
Jason Wade, regional director for Northern, said: "Earlier this morning, one of our trains collided with a car on a level crossing near Redcar Central. The service involved was travelling from Saltburn to Nunthorpe and had nine customers on-board.
"Thankfully, there are no reports of any physical injuries, including the driver of the vehicle, although paramedics have attended the scene and we are supporting customers affected by this incident.
"The line between Middlesbrough and Saltburn is currently closed and we will work with Network Rail to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes to our customers."
Northern is providing further updates for passengers throughout the day here.