Train passengers were at the centre of another rail crash yesterday when a mainline train smashed into the rear of an empty carriage at one of London's busiest train stations.
Three people suffered serious head and fracture injuries, and at least 27 people were hurt when a South West Trains service, carrying about 120 passengers, pulled into Waterloo station and ploughed into the back of an empty carriage sitting on the same line.
At least three people were taken to hospital on stretchers and others suffered whiplash, head and leg injuries caused by flying glass.
As Railtrack, which owns the rail infrastructure, British Transport Police and the Health and Safety Executive started urgent investigations into the incident, South West Trains immediately pointed to driver or train error as the cause of the crash.
Preliminary investigations by South West Trains into the incident ruled out signal failure or a problem with the train tracks.
The managing director of South West Trains, Mr Graham Eccles, described the incident as "regrettable" and suggested the precise cause of crash. "It is either a fault of the train or driver error," he said. "We need to find out exactly what happened."
There was no damage to the tracks, but there was some broken glass due to the impact of the collision.
The South West Trains 1.09 p.m. Hampton Court service hit the stationary carriage as it pulled into Platform 5 at Waterloo at about 1.46 p.m.
It had arrived at Waterloo as part of a later service from the station to Chessington with the stationary carriage, which had been brought to the platform earlier from a nearby depot.
The crash comes four months after the Paddington rail disaster in London in which 30 people were killed and more than 240 people were injured when two trains crashed in a near head-on collision at the height on the rush hour.
A public inquiry into the crash is under way, and one of the key tasks of the investigation into yesterday's crash will be to establish why the Hampton Court service did not stop short and instead ran into the back of the empty carriage.
As train services in and out of Waterloo station were approaching normal last night, Supt Tony Thompson of the British Transport Police said the driver of the South West Trains service was breathalysed "as a matter of routine" and the test was negative.
The driver had not been taken to hospital but was experiencing shock over the incident.
The injured were taken to St Thomas's Hospital, close to Waterloo station, and University College Hospital in Euston. Twelve of the adult casualties were taken to St Thomas's, and a spokeswoman for the hospital said one person was being treated for head and chest injuries, but they were not thought to be life-threatening.
The other 11 adults were being treated for minor cuts and bruises to their faces, legs and hands, which were caused by being thrown around the train.