Bob Brook: Heck Crash

At about 0630 on the morning of Wednesday 28 February 2001, a vehicle left the M62 motorway at Great Heck, north of Doncaster, and ran down the railway embankment onto the East Coast Main Line. An approaching up express service was derailed by the presence of the vehicle and subsequently collided with a down freight train resulting in loss of 10 lives and serious injury to 82 other persons.

In this video retired railwayman Bob Brook, who was a passenger on the up service, recounts his experiences as a survivor of the collision. He also highlights the appalling attitudes of the Highways Agency to road safety compared to railway safety requirements and also the attitudes of the media who are more interested in sensationalising railway accidents than giving a properly balanced account.

The geographic location of the collision can be seen on a current OS Map. The map will place this location at the centre of the map panel, roll the mouse over the icon(s) to reveal what they represent. The map can be scrolled to the other nearby locations mentioned in the video. Increase the scale using the scale selector on the left to separate closely positioned icons.

This video is intended for viewing at a maximum screen resolution of 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels high. Please be aware that viewing at a larger size may result in a loss of clarity and a 'grainy' appearance.

Copyright © of the FARSAP videos belongs to the Friends of the National Railway Museum.
The material may be freely used except for sale or advertising purposes.

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Video Credits

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