Return for hero train driver
Published: May 8, 2008
THE hero train driver who broke his neck in the Grayrigg rail crash is set to return to work two months earlier than expected.
Iain Black, 47, of Dumbarton, was injured after the Virgin train he was driving went over a set of faulty points and derailed at Grayrigg in Cumbria in February last year.
Scottish passenger Peggy Masson, 84, died and 22 others were injured when the London to Glasgow train plunged down an embankment into a field.
Now Mr Black is to return to an office-based job and said he eventually wants to drive trains again.
He said: “It is still a possibility.
“I really enjoyed the job – it is phenomenal to drive trains through the Lake District at 120mph.”
Mr Black was praised after he stayed at the controls of the Pendolino train as it went out of control and crashed at 95mph.
He said at the time that he felt like he was on a “bucking bronco” as he battled to keep the train on the tracks.
He said: “The moment it all went wrong is still very clear.
“Suddenly the train just jumped through the air, and I knew I was in serious bother.”
Mr Black was immobilised at his post – knowing his neck was broken – with blood flowing down the side of his head. But he had a mobile phone in his pocket and contacted his partner, Jan Duff, who was originally from Carlisle.
He said: “I asked her to phone the controls because that was my main concern. If another train had come along it could have been a double tragedy.”
For several months Mr Black had to wear a head brace to keep his neck still so the bones would heal.
He was told he would be off work for 18 months, but is returning two months early because he has made such a good recovery. He will have to have a medical before being allowed to drive trains again.
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