Tragedy as death on railway tracks near Chesterfield causes major disruption for trains

Police and paramedics were called to the incident this morning, but say, sadly, the person was pronounced dead at the scene.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) has confirmed that its services are being disrupted after a person was hit by a train. The operator issued a statement following the closure of the line between Derby and Sheffield at around 10.40am on Wednesday, June 26.

It is understood the incident happened near Chesterfield.

British Transport Police said in a statement: “Officers were called to Chesterfield railway station at around 10.38am today (26 June) following reports of a casualty on the tracks. Paramedics also attended, however sadly a person was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”

A spokesperson for EMR said: "We are sad to report that a person has been hit by a train. This is disrupting our trains on our Intercity, and Liverpool / Norwich routes.

"Emergency services are currently en route to manage the incident and there is currently no expectation on when they will arrive. The line is currently closed between Derby and Sheffield. You can use your ticket to travel with other operators at no extra cost."

EMR says it expects the line to be closed for around another two hours.

Trains running through Derby towards Sheffield cannot run in either direction. EMR says it is expecting the line to open in the next two hours and says its priority is getting trains running to their advertised times again, which it expects to resume by 1pm.

A spokesperson for EMR added: "You should continue to travel as originally planned however your journey may be delayed by 60 minutes. We are sorry for the delay in your journey today.

"We are currently looking at alternative arrangements to keep you on the move. Please remember that this can take time and be assured that our team are working tirelessly to arrange this as quickly as possible for you. We appreciate your patience whilst we do this."

Those travelling towards Sheffield may be diverted to Doncaster where they can change for a train to London Kings Cross, with EMR predicting this journey could take between two and two-and-a-half hours..