A man has been arrested after a train and a tractor collided in Herefordshire, with two people admitted to hospital, British Transport Police said.
The 32-year-old man, from Bromyard, Herefordshire, was arrested on suspicion of endangering safety on the railway after the crash at a level crossing in the Leominster area on Thursday morning, which caused disruption across English and Welsh rail services.
The collision, involving the 8.30am service from Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff, took place at about 11.45am. The train was not derailed. The air ambulance, the West Midlands ambulance service (WMAS) and Hereford and Worcester fire and rescue service crews were sent to the scene at Nordan farm, near Leominster.
At least 56 people were on board the train, according to initial reports, and 15 were assessed by medics, the (BTP) said.
Emergency services remain at the scene, while one man was airlifted to Hereford county hospital and a woman transported by road ambulance, the WMAS said. Their injuries not considered life-threatening.
The tractor was towing a trailer and had stopped on a farm track across the railway used only by agricultural vehicles. The driver was unhurt.
West Mercia police also attended the crash.
Roads in the area remain open, but train services were suspended and disruption was likely to continue into Thursday evening, Transport for Wales (TfW) said. All direct Cardiff-Manchester services and all services on the Marches line from Newport to Shrewsbury were. stopped.
Tickets would be accepted by other train operators, including Northern Rail, Avanti, GWR and CrossCountry, a TfW spokesperson said, and road replacement services would be put in place.
National Rail said all lines between Hereford and Craven Arms had been halted and services would be cancelled or changed until 7pm.
The BTP said inquiries were under way into the circumstances leading to the collision.
A spokesperson for the Rail Accident Investigation Branch said: “Our inspectors will gather evidence as part of the process of conducting a preliminary examination, and a decision on whether an investigation will be launched will be taken in the coming days.”
