Derailment of a freight train at Barking
Investigation into the derailment of a freight train at Barking, Greater London, 23 October 2026.
The wagon involved in the derailment.
At around 13:04 on Friday 23 October 2026, one wagon of an intermodal freight train derailed on the Up Tilbury Line, around 700 metres south-east of Barking Station.
The train, which was operated by GB Railfreight, was formed of a pair of class 99 bi-mode locomotives (one of which was being dead hauled) and 39 intermodal container wagons. It was travelling between the rail freight terminals at London Gateway and Hams Hall.
Preliminary analysis of data from the leading locomotive’s on-train data recorder showed that the train was travelling at around 8 mph (13 km/h) when its brakes applied, stopping the train. After around 2 minutes the train started to move again. The wagon, which was the 20th wagon from the front of the train, derailed during these movements. The train was then driven for around 0.7 miles (1.1 km) with the derailed wagon running with its wheels on the sleepers and ballast, passing through platform 8 at Barking station. The train came to a stand with the derailed wagon 170 metres north of the station after the driver was contacted by the signaller, who had noticed a loss of detection on multiple sets of points.
There were no reported injuries. There was significant damage caused to the wagon involved as well as to the track, signalling equipment, and adjacent infrastructure.
Our investigation will examine the cause and sequence of events leading up to the derailment. It will also consider:
- the actions of those involved and the factors that may have influenced them
- the mechanism by which the wagon became derailed
- the loading and preparation of the train
- the design of the vehicles forming the train, and their dynamic characteristics
- the status of the infrastructure at this location
- any underlying management factors.
Our investigation is independent of any investigation by the railway industry or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Rail and Road.
We will publish our findings, including any recommendations to improve safety, at the conclusion of our investigation. This report will be available on our website.
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