Train death victim is named

An investigation is underway into the incident at Pontyclun

A young rugby player killed by an InterCity 125 Paddington-Swansea train has been named by South Wales police.

John Adam Blamey, 19,from Tonyrefail, was crossing the tracks at Pontyclun, near Bridgend, with friends when he was hit by a train on Saturday night.

The three friends had been celebrating Wales's victory over Samoa and they had taken a short cut to a nightclub nearby.

Matthew Pope, 18, suffered serious leg injuries and underwent surgery at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital.

The track could be used as a short-cut

A third teenager was treated in hospital for shock.

Mr Blamey played for Tonyrefail youth rugby team.

His parents were being comforted on Sunday.

An inquest is due to be opened on Tuesday by coroner Phillip Walters.

In a separate incident on Monday, a woman was seriously injured in an incident on the railway between Briton Ferry and Neath.

Earlier, British Transport Police renewed warnings for people to stay off railway lines.

It is thought the spot where Mr Blamey died was regularly being used as a short cut.

Reports suggest it was used to reduce a late night walk from a Pontyclun pub to a nearby club.

By road, the journey is about two miles but along the rail track it is less than half a mile.

'Nasty bend'

Nobody knows definitely that this is why the three men were on the track but simply crossing it would have been done safely and easily on the nearby footbridge.

Sergeant Steve Dorking of British Transport Police said that at that particular station there is very little warning of an approaching train.

"At Pontyclun there is quite a nasty bend so the view is somewhat restricted," he said.