Watford Tunnel Train Crash: Torrential Rain and Landslide Derail London Midland Service

A major railway incident occurred just north of Watford Junction on Friday, 16th September 2016, when a violent flash storm dropped a month’s worth of rain in just a few hours. The intense torrential rainfall triggered a sudden landslide at the mouth of a tunnel near Gypsy Lane, leaving a passenger train derailed and hundreds stranded.

• London Midland train was hit by a landslide and derailed north of Watford
• It was then struck by an oncoming train during a derailment in a ‘slow tunnel’
• Four people – including two drivers and a pregnant passenger – were injured
• 400 passengers remain trapped on at least one of the trains four hours later

The London Midland service, which was travelling from Milton Keynes, struck the heavy landslip debris at the entrance of the tunnel, causing a partial derailment. Moments later, a second train travelling in the opposite direction clipped the side of the derailed carriages.

Emergency response teams, including Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue and British Transport Police, rushed to the secure perimeter. Four people were injured in the collision—including two train drivers and two passengers, one of whom was pregnant. Two victims were treated at the scene for neck injuries and chest pains. Rescuers successfully evacuated over 400 stranded passengers trapped inside the tunnel darkness, using a diverted Virgin Trains service to safely transport them to nearby Kings Langley, Hemel Hempstead, and Milton Keynes.

While national news crews quickly left the scene after the initial rescue, WatNews remained on the ground over the following days to document the massive recovery and civil engineering operation.

Network Rail engineering crews worked around the clock to clear the mudslide rubble and stabilise the steep embankment. Local investigations revealed that the hillside had previously been cleared of trees—which serve as a natural defence against soil erosion—and replaced with a man-made mesh system. The intense volume of the flash flood completely overwhelmed the incomplete meshwork, leading directly to the bank collapse.

British Transport Police were called to the scene along with the East of England Ambulance Service and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Engineers are out at Hunton Bridge Tunnel between Watford Junction station and Kings Langley Station.

Part of the train derailed and was clipped by another. Both trains remained in the tunnel after the fire service helped evacuate passengers.

Two people were treated, one for a neck injury and the other for chest pain.

A Virgin train was sent to the scene to take stranded passengers on to King’s Langley, Hemel Hempstead and Milton Keynes.

The Hollywood Backdrop: Filming “Ready Player One” Above the Tunnel

Look closely at the skyline directly above the tunnel mouth in the archive photos. The massive, towering structures visible are the outdoor “Stacks” movie sets on the Warner Bros. Leavesden backlot.

Shaken train passengers were trapped inside a railway tunnel for four hours after a train was derailed by a landslide during the morning rush hour.

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Day 2: Heavy Engineering & Track Clearance Operations
As national media attention shifted away, WatNews remained trackside to document the subsequent recovery operation. Specialist Network Rail engineering vehicles cleared massive mudslide rubble from the line and worked to secure the deforested embankment outside the Gypsy Lane tunnel mouth.