 Live BBC television coverage at 08 : 15 the following morning showed that although the whole train had been derailed , the rear carriages were standing nearly vertically on the sleepers and ballast . Standard class , the front five carriages , were the worst affected , and the rear four first class carriages were in better condition . The leading carriage , a driving motor coach , had headed down the embankment , and turned end @-@ for @-@ end as it fell . It was lying on its side at the foot of the embankment . The second carriage had jack @-@ knifed against the first , breaking the coupling , and so had not followed it down the bank . This second carriage came to rest some distance further along the track , at a steep angle with one end in the air . The middle part of the train toppled sideways down the embankment . All the partially friction stir welded carriages remained structurally intact , with damage mainly confined to the crumple zones at their ends . None of the windows broke , and lighting remained in all the carriages . Most injuries occurred in the front two carriages . The driver , who had stayed at the controls ( but had little option to move once the accident had started and had no prior indication of derailment ) , was trapped for about an hour while specialist cutting equipment was used to free him from his cab . The other three members of the crew were in the rear first class section of the train . 
