A husband who died in a Welsh train crash that injured four others has been pictured for the first time.
Tudor Evans, 66, was killed when passengers were thrown across a carriage in the horror smash on Monday evening.
Friend Iestyn Leyshon said Mr Evans, from Aberystwyth, west Wales, was a keen mountain biker, adding that he was ‘extremely saddened’ he would ‘never see him on his bike’ again.
He said Mr Evans and his wife Rachel had ‘just began to travel after many years of work’ before tragedy struck.
The victim’s family thanked well-wishers for their ‘kind messages and support’ as they asked for privacy.
Rail lines have been closed as investigators try to piece together how the two trains collided in the head on crash in Mid Wales – as further services were cancelled over track conditions.
Tudor Evans, 66, was killed when passengers were thrown across a carriage in the horror smash on Monday evening
Mr Evans was killed having been travelling on the 18.31 service from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth.
British Transport Police previously confirmed he was a passenger and not a member of the train crew.
A BTP spokesperson said: ‘Sadly, a man in his 60s has died following the collision.
‘The circumstances leading up to his death are under investigation. His next of kin have been informed and his family are being supported by specialist officers.
‘While formal identification has not taken place he is not believed to be a member of rail staff. Our thoughts remain with his loved ones and we kindly ask they are given privacy at this time.
A further 15 people were taken to hospital with injuries not believed to be life threatening or life changing. All other passengers were safely evacuated.
Rail chiefs said the line would remain closed until at least Saturday as investigations continue.
A joint statement from Network Rail and Transport for Wales: ‘The Cambrian line between Machynlleth and Shrewsbury will remain closed until at least the end of Friday 25 October following a collision between two trains on Monday night.
‘The incident is currently under investigation by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and will move to a recovery operation to remove the affected trains over the coming days.
‘Both TfW and Network Rail would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone in the local community for the overwhelming level of support they have provided during this difficult incident.
‘A replacement bus operation will remain in place calling at all stations on the route and customers should check before they travel and allow for journeys to take longer than usual.
‘Services between Machynlleth and Pwllheli/Aberystwyth and between Shrewsbury and Birmingham International will continue to run as planned.’
Witnesses say it seemed as though one train was unable to stop at a passing place on the line and ‘slid’ down the track into the path of the on-coming train.
One expert said they feared leaves on the line could have prevented the trains from stopping in the wet autumnal conditions.
The crash involved the two Transport for Wales services near Llanbrynmair, Powys and involved the 6.31pm service from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and the 7.09pm from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury.
Travel expert Rhodri Clark said: ‘Seeing the pictures reminds me of an accident three years ago in Salisbury; there were two trains of the same type that had collided, and one of the causes there was that the tracks were slippery because there were leaves that had fallen and that there is slime along the top of the rails.’
One passenger said he was thrown forward with such force that when his body struck the table in front it ripped its legs from its bolts and pictures show one carriage split open from the crash.
Anthony Hurford said he was on the Shrewsbury-bound train and writing an email on his laptop when the collision happened at around 7.29pm.
He said: ‘The word that keeps coming into my head is just brutal really.
‘Just going from… I don’t know how fast we were going, maybe 40, maybe 50, 60, miles per hour to nothing in the blink of the eye.
‘Somehow my body bent the leg of a table and ripped it off its bolts attached to the wall. Suddenly I was on the floor with my laptop strewn ahead of me wondering what the hell had happened.
‘We had tried to stop at the lights at the top of the hill there’s a signal which I guess would have been a passing place, but for whatever reason the train wouldn’t stop.’
Anthony said up to 30-40 firefighters attended the scene along with British Transport Police officers and three helicopters.
He added: ‘I was checked by three or four different medics.’
Ifan Edwards, who lives near the scene, said he was alerted to the crash when he saw blue lights passing his house.
He said: ‘We thought ‘hang on something has happened’ and we noticed a policeman starting to put signs outside the house and we could hear on his radio that they were saying there had been a train incident.
‘We walked down and we could see the two trains stopped further down.
‘The air ambulance came first and then we had two coastguard helicopters landing just in front of the house, all unloading paramedics and a lot of kit coming out of the helicopters into police vehicles and they were taken down to the incident.
‘It is a surprise that something like this has happened.’
Powys County Councillor Elwyn Vaughan who represents the Glantwymyn ward said that it ‘seemed to be the case’ that one of the trains was unable to stop at a passing place.
He added: ‘We want to see what the investigation says. It is a matter of concern is that’s the case but we want to know the facts as soon as possible.
‘It is a unique situation and it is very highly unusual that’s why we need to know those facts as soon as possible.
‘There is a fairly new digital system to control speed on this route so we need to make sure is that a factor, is it something to do with the train itself, but obviously we want to know that information as soon as possible.’
