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Hither Green rail crash

1967 disasters in the United Kingdom1967 in LondonAccidents and incidents involving British RailDerailments in EnglandHistory of the London Borough of Lewisham
November 1967 events in the United KingdomRailway accidents and incidents in LondonRailway accidents in 1967Robin GibbTransport in the London Borough of Lewisham

On 5 November 1967, a busy Sunday evening train service from Hastings to London Charing Cross derailed near the Hither Green maintenance depot in London, between Hither Green and Grove Park railway stations. Of the twelve coaches, many full of standing passengers, eleven were derailed and four turned onto their sides, resulting in 49 fatalities and 78 injuries. It is Britain's sixth worst rail disaster in terms of death toll, and has not been surpassed since. The derailment was found to be due to a broken rail. The Ministry of Transport report criticised the maintenance of the line, especially following a recent increase of the maximum speed of trains over the route. Following the accident the maintenance of the line was improved and plans accelerated for replacing jointed track by continuous welded rail.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Hither Green rail crash (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Hither Green rail crash
St. Mildred's Road, London Hither Green (London Borough of Lewisham)

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Wikipedia: Hither Green rail crashContinue reading on Wikipedia

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N 51.445277777778 ° E 0.0055555555555556 °
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St. Mildred's Road Bridge

St. Mildred's Road
SE12 0RG London, Hither Green (London Borough of Lewisham)
England, United Kingdom
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Whitefoot (ward)

Whitefoot is an electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is located 13 km (8.1 mi) south-east of Charing Cross, and is north of Downham, south of Catford, west of Grove Park, and east of Bellingham. It is long east to west following Whitefoot Lane, the local main road, making it about 3 km (1.9 mi) at its longest point. Whitefoot is also on the Prime Meridian. Part of the South Eastern Main Line railway between Hither Green and Grove Park stations marks the whole eastern border of the ward. The western border is marked partly by some of the Catford Loop Line, between Bellingham and Beckenham Hill stations, and small parts of two A roads, South End Lane (A2218 road) and Bromley Road (A21 road). Although railway lines make much of the wards boundaries, no train stations are located within Whitefoot. Whitefoot is covered by two postcode districts, BR1 covering the south and SE6 covering the north; most of their common boundary follows Whitefoot Lane. Hither Green Cemetery is located on the east side of the ward, and Forster Memorial Park in the west. One of the ward's councillors from 2010 to 2019 was Labour's Janet Daby, who resigned to concentrate on her role as the MP for Lewisham East, which includes Whitefoot in its boundaries. She won the parliamentary seat at a 2018 by-election. In 2006, the Liberal Democrats won all three ward seats. Daby gained one in 2010, before the other two seats were gained by Labour in 2014. As of 2021, all three seats are held by Labour.From 2022, Whitefoot will be replaced by the new Catford South, Hither Green and Downham wards.