Man arrested after train hits tractor on level crossing leaving six injured

22 May 2025, 16:48

A man has been arrested after a train travelling from Manchester to Cardiff hit a tractor-trailer on a level crossing.

The Transport for Wales (TfW) train with 66 passengers travelling near Leominster, Herefordshire, was not derailed but two passengers suffered minor injuries, according to British Transport Police (BTP).

BTP said on Thursday afternoon that a 32-year-old man from Bromyard, Herefordshire, had been arrested on suspicion of endangering safety on the railway.

Officers were called to the level crossing north of Leominster at 10.40am on Thursday.

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West Midlands Ambulance Service said one man was airlifted to Hereford County Hospital and a woman was taken to the facility by road.

"Fifteen further patients who were passengers on the train were assessed, and all were discharged at the scene," an ambulance service spokeswoman said.

"Nobody from the tractor required assessment."

A spokesperson for the Midlands Air Ambulance said: "We were called to an incident on the railway track at Nordan Farm, Leominster at 10.46am. We currently have an ambulance, five paramedic officers, the Midlands Air Ambulance from Strensham at the scene.”

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews also attended the scene.

Disruption is expected until the end of the day, National Rail said, with all direct trains between the two cities currently cancelled.

All lines between the Hereford and Craven Arms stations are blocked and trains will not run between the two.

A TfW spokesman said: "The 0830 Manchester Piccadilly-Cardiff Central service has hit an obstruction at a crossing between Ludlow and Leominster so all services on the Marches line are on stop.

"Ticket acceptance is in place with Northern, Avanti, GWR and CrossCountry. Replacement road transport is being put in place."

BTP said inquiries into the lead-up to the incident are ongoing.

A spokesperson for the Rail Accident Investigation Branch said: "The RAIB has sent a team of inspectors to Leominster in Herefordshire who are at the site of a collision between a passenger train and an agricultural trailer at a user-worked level crossing.

"Our inspectors will gather evidence as part of the process of conducting a preliminary examination and a decision on whether an investigation will be launched will be taken in the coming days."