08/23/2026
At around 10:28 p.m. on 7 May 2026, an out-of-service Northern passenger train was standing on Todmorden West Curve in West Yorkshire during temporarily revised railway operations.
The driver received permission from the signaller to move the train closer to a signal.
There was one critical problem.
The driving cab was already beyond that signal.
When the train began moving, it travelled uncontrolled toward Todmorden Viaduct Junction. The driver realised what had happened and managed to stop the train close to the junction.
Then came the extraordinary part.
Only 12 seconds after the stationary train stopped, Northern’s 21:57 Manchester Victoria-to-Leeds passenger service passed through the junction at approximately 45 mph — 72 km/h. It had just departed Todmorden station.
There was no collision. Nobody was injured. No railway equipment was damaged.
But the timing transformed the event into a serious near miss.
RAIB said the incident occurred while revised working arrangements were temporarily increasing the number of shunting movements involving Todmorden West Curve. Investigators are now examining the full sequence of events, the actions of those involved, signalling-system operation, staff training and competence, and how risks created by the temporary working arrangements were assessed and controlled.
The final findings have not yet been published.
What makes Todmorden extraordinary is that disaster was avoided not by a huge engineering intervention, but by one train stopping—and a gap measured in seconds before another passenger service entered the junction.
(AI-generated historical reconstruction for educational storytelling — not a real photograph)
