On 4 November 1940, at 03:47, a serious railway accident occurred at Norton Fitzwarren, near Taunton in Somerset. The train involved was a Great Western Railway service traveling from London to the west of England. The train was carrying approximately 900 passengers at the time of the accident.

The accident occurred on the Down Relief line where the four-track section west of Taunton merged into two tracks. Trap points were installed to prevent trains on the relief line from entering the main line incorrectly. On this night, the express train had been routed onto the Down Relief line to allow another train to overtake on the main line.

The driver misread the signals and believed he was on the Down Main line. As a result, the train approached the trap points at a speed of approximately 40 miles per hour. The locomotive, GWR King Class No. 6028 “King George VI,” derailed when it ran through the trap points, causing the carriages to leave the tracks.

Twenty-seven people were killed in the derailment and seventy-four were injured. The passengers included a mix of civilians and servicemen traveling during wartime conditions. Rescue efforts were carried out immediately, though the wartime blackout and early morning timing added to the difficulties.

An official inquiry was conducted by Sir Alan Mount, Chief Inspecting Officer of the Railway Inspectorate. The report concluded that the sole cause of the accident was an “unaccountable lapse” by the driver, despite his long service record. Contributing factors included the blackout conditions, confusing signal placement for the relief line, and the driver having suffered personal hardship the previous night when his home was bombed.

The 1940 Norton Fitzwarren crash remains significant in British railway history. It highlights how human error can interact with complex track layouts and unusual operational conditions to produce catastrophic results. The accident led to a reassessment of signal positioning and operational procedures, ensuring that lessons were learned to reduce the risk of similar derailments in the future.