A person has died after being struck by a steam train travelling to an Armistice Day event, marking the first fatality of its kind in the UK in nearly six decades.
The 34028 Eddystone locomotive had left Southall depot in west London for Victoria Station when it collided with a person who allegedly walked off a platform at Hanwell at around 6am on Wednesday. The train, operated by Southern Locomotives Ltd, was due to reach the major rail terminus before pulling the Armistice Steam Express to Canterbury for a Remembrance Day commemoration.
Incident details and immediate response
Following the incident, the rail tour due to depart Victoria that day was cancelled. Several services on the Great Western Main Line were disrupted, including Elizabeth Line trains, for most of Wednesday.
A spokesperson for British Transport Police said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene, but the incident was not being treated as suspicious. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) was contacted for comment.
Company statement and historical context
Southern Locomotives Ltd issued a statement saying: 'We are deeply saddened to confirm that a person has died after being struck by our locomotive 34028 Eddystone this morning at Hanwell Station, West London. Our immediate thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family and loved ones of the individual involved and the train crew who witnessed the tragedy. The rail tour due to depart Victoria today has been cancelled as a result of this incident.'
This is the first fatal incident involving a steam train in the UK in 58 years. The last scheduled passenger steam-hauled service was the Fifteen Guinea Special, which last ran in August 1968 between Liverpool and Preston. Steam trains were banned from mainline operations by British Rail the same year, but they continue to be used for special excursions, on heritage lines and tourist routes. However, steam locomotives remain in service in a select few countries worldwide, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Korea and Poland.
Rail safety statistics
According to the Office for Rail and Road, a total of 17 people died while trespassing on the railway between April 2025 and March 2026, 11 of which were at level crossings.
