Family thanks after passenger’s death

The family of a man who died after the train he was traveling in collided with another train have thanked people for “kind messages and support” and asked for privacy.

Tudor Evans, 66, from Capel Dewi in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, died after the crash near Llanbrynmair, Powys, on Monday evening.

He was on his way home from a holiday in Italy when the accident happened.

Four others were seriously injured in the crash and a further eleven required hospital treatment, according to the Rail Accident Investigations Branch (RAIB).

Mr Evans was traveling westbound from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth at 6.31pm on Monday evening when he struck a stationary train heading from Machynlleth, Powys, to Shrewsbury.

Network Rail said the line will remain closed until Friday at the earliest as engineers look at “immediate lessons” to prevent any future crashes before reopening.

Emergency services remained at the scene on Thursday and the two trains have now been separated while investigations begin to remove the affected trains.

Evans’ friend, Iestyn Leyshon, spoke of the sadness that he and his wife “just started traveling after years of work, and then this tragedy happens.”

Mr Leyshon told the Newyddion S4C app he was “extremely saddened” when he learned of his death.

He had known Mr Evans for about 20 years, but got to know him well over the past four years through their shared passion for mountain biking.

“We will never see him on his bike on the Elenydd (a highland area in Mid Wales) again,” he added.

A driver on one of the trains was also “quite seriously injured” in the crash and taken to hospital in Shrewsbury, while a conductor suffered a fracture, said Jan Chaudhry-Van Der Velde, chief operating officer of Transport for Wales.

He added that both the injured driver and conductor have received medical care and are “on the road to recovery.”

The accident occurred on the Cambrian Line on a single track, close to a passing loop where opposing trains can pass.

The RAIB sent a team of inspectors to the scene of the accident and during the initial inspection discovered that the train may have entered wheel slip while braking.

Network Rail route director Nick Millington said the investigation was “complex” and “unable to speculate whether leaves on the tracks contributed to the crash.”

Network Rail and TfW said the Cambrian line between Machynlleth and Shrewsbury will remain closed until at least the end of Friday.