Early morning train derailment causes travel chaos at Sheffield station

Several carriages on a freight train carrying cement from the Hope Valley to Dewsbury derailed in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

One carriage could be seen completely on its side while others had been pulled from the rails but were still upright.

The train itself had just passed through Sheffield station at the time of the derailment, but the carriages stretched back to the station and beyond, leaving platform one completely unusable.

Dozens of workmen from Network Rail were at the station most of the day assessing the damage and formulating a plan to right the carriage and move the train.

However, as a result of the second coronavirus lockdown, the station was quiet on Wednesday morning, with few passengers’ journeys disrupted despite the multiple cancellations.

One of those was Frederikke Reimer, a student traveling from York to Leicester, who had been delayed an hour.

She said: “I didn't know this had happened but I set off early this morning and I’m glad I did.

"There had been quite a lot of changing and not knowing what is going on but everyone has been really helpful.”

A British Transport Police spokesperson said no one had been injured and officers were still trying to find out exactly what had caused the accident.

They said: "Officers were called to Sheffield railway station following a freight train derailment this morning. No one has been injured.

"We are working with our industry partners to investigate the circumstances of the incident.”

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