Nando Times

Nine injured when commuter trains bump in London

The Associated Press

LONDON (March 12, 2001 9:00 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - Two slow-moving commuter trains bumped outside a station Monday morning in southeast London, and nine passengers were reported injured.

One London-bound Connex train hit the rear of another London-bound train at Hither Green station near Lewisham, British Transport Police said. The two trains, each carrying about 500 passengers, remained on the rails.

One person suffered a whiplash injury and other others were treated for shock, Connex said.

The managing director of Connex, Olivier Brousse, said the trailing train apparently was at fault. It was moving at about 20 mph when it bumped the train ahead, which had just begun to leave the station, he said.

"We don't know what happened but it's a probability that he might have gone through a red signal, or the signal was faulty," Brousse said.

Britain has been trying to restore confidence in its rail network, which carries about 500,000 passengers a day, after four fatal rail accidents in 3 1/2 years.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), March 12, 2001