“The reason rail incidents become big news like this is because they’re extremely rare events and that’s a good thing,” says Mr Dennis.
The National Rail website states that train travel “remains one of the safest modes of transport in Great Britain”.
One of the UK’s most high-profile train accidents of last year was in September 2023, when the Flying Scotsman collided with stationary carriages at Aviemore Station in the Scottish Highlands, injuring two people.
The last train crash in Wales happened in 1991 inside the Severn Tunnel, which allows travel between south-west England and south Wales.
On 7 December, 1991, the 08:30 from London Paddington to Cardiff Central was stopped at a signal at the tunnel’s entrance.
The train’s driver was advised of a signal failure and told to proceed with caution, but about three miles into the tunnel, it was rear-ended by a class 155 Sprinter travelling from Portsmouth to Cardiff.
A total of 185 people were injured in the collision, five of whom were seriously hurt.
