Inquiry into rail station incident

The train collided with the station buffers

An investigation has been launched after a crowded commuter train hit station buffers, injuring seven passengers and the driver.

Passengers on a ScotRail train from Glasgow were hurled forward and some were flung to the floor as the train crashed into buffers at Edinburgh's busy Waverley station.

The Scottish Ambulance Service said seven passengers, all women, were treated at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for injuries including a broken leg and a spinal injury.

One woman who recently underwent hip replacement surgery was being X-rayed.

An injured woman is taken to hospital

The driver of the train, which left Glasgow at 0845 BST, was treated by paramedics for a minor head injury but was not taken to hospital.

The £3m Turbostar train sustained damage to its front carriage and the buffer it crashed into was broken.

ScotRail said it was too early to say what caused the train to crash, but confirmed that an investigation was under way.

Corporate affairs director John Boyle, said: "Obviously it was a very low-speed incident, but even at one mile an hour if you hit something solid there is a jolt and I think that's what caused the injuries."

Mr Boyle refused to speculate on the cause of the crash but revealed that the driver had been taken off duties "as a matter of course".

Mr Boyle said: "I'm pleased that so very few people had to be taken to hospital, because we are always concerned in incidents of this kind.

There was a loud bang and dust and the train came to a halt

Daniel Fisher, eyewitness

"We will be conducting a very full investigation and I think it would be quite wrong of me to speculate of the possible cause of this low-speed collision."

Railtrack said the train driver was "very experienced" and had been tested for alcohol and drugs, which is normal procedure following rail incidents.

There were an estimated 120 passengers on board the train when the incident happened at 0950 BST.

Freelance journalist Daniel Fisher, who was due to board a train to Glasgow, told BBC News Online: "As the train was coming into the station, it failed to stop and hit the buffers on platform 14.

"There was a loud bang and dust and the train came to a halt."

Trainee solicitor Chris McGarvey said: "Everyone was standing waiting to get off the train when there was a sudden jolt and everyone fell forward.

Ambulances were quickly on the scene

"There was a woman standing next to me who bore the brunt when two grown men fell forward landing on her back.

"She fell against the seat and injured her eye and fractured her arm."

Scottish National Health spokeswoman Nicola Sturgeon was flung to the floor.

She said: "There was nothing untoward about the train journey until literally the last second.

"Like most people, I was standing up waiting to get off, and I ended up on the floor.

"Obviously (the train) did not brake in time.

'Bit of panic'

"The speed would be hard to judge because I wasn't paying attention - I don't know, it could have been 20-30mph, I really don't know. It was a fairly normal speed.

"When it happened, there was a bit of panic for the first few seconds. There was silence, then a couple of people started screaming.

"There were children crying, but I think there probably wasn't as much panic as there might have been because the doors immediately opened and people were able to get off quite quickly."

"When I got off the carriage, like most people I hung about. There were two people in the carriage that appeared to be injured and we hung about to make sure they were okay."

Lisa Kochan, 34, from Edmonton, in Canada, got on the train at Falkirk with her two daughters Jamie, eight, and Carly, 10.

An inquiry has been launched

She said: "We were just standing ready to get off and the train was slowing down before it came to a very abrupt stop.

"I was winded, it knocked the wind straight out of me. The kids were standing in the aisle and everyone just fell.

"I am quite upset that it happened. It didn't seem too bad but I didn't realise some of the other people on board were injured."

Members of the Safe Trains Action Group (Stag) said it was "typical" that the crash should happen on the same day as Railtrack's annual meeting in York.

During the meeting, Railtrack chairman John Robinson apologised for the company's poor performance.

He had faced survivors of recent fatal train crashes at a stormy meeting.

'Safety standards'

Stag treasurer Marion Carmichael said: "Nothing has changed, what else can you say? It's so typical that there should be a crash on a day like this."

Co-chairman Carol Bell said: "Waverley is owned and managed by Railtrack. Of all the places for an accident to happen today, it had to be one of their own."

"I also hope this further convinces Railtrack that safety standards have to be improved.

"I don't know the cause of this accident but I know the situation has to improve."

Bill Ure, secretary of the Rail Passengers Committee Scotland, said the inquiry would have to decide whether a track fault, a problem with the train or driver error was responsible for the collision.

He said: "Trains do often hit buffers and we are pleased that this appears to be a relatively minor incident."