The town of Morpeth in Northumberland, England, has what is reputed to be the tightest curve (17 chains or 340 metres radius) of any main railway line in Britain. The track turns approximately 98° from a northwesterly to an easterly direction immediately west of Morpeth Station on an otherwise fast section of the East Coast Main Line railway.[1] This was a major factor in three serious derailments between 1969 and 1994. The curve has a permanent speed restriction of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h).[2]
- ^ Google maps satellite view of the location
- ^ David Mitchell, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (25 June 1984). "Railway Accident (Morpeth)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 688.