The collision occurred fifteen miles from Tidal Cross Station (a rondel tract known more for bandit attacks than for derailments), and is believed to have been caused by a large horticultural mass that really had no business being anywhere near a major train line, never mind being right in the middle of one.

Forensic botanists deployed to the scene claimed to have never seen anything quite like it before:

‘We’ve never seen anything quite like it before!’ Alrin Dilwood told me. ‘These tendrils, the way they’re wrapped around the track; it looks as if they were intentionally trying to flip the train. In all my cycles in law enforcement, I’ve never once known a plant species to exhibit such clear homicidal motivation. Sure, you get your cases involving felonious fengrasp, but they don’t know that they’re killing people… at least, we don’t think they do…’

There was no denying that this plant-mass-thing had an ominous presence to it; I’d describe it as a sprawling garden coursing with an otherworldly energy, which is especially unnerving when you consider just how bizarre flora in the ‘worldly’ category can get (Dhalian wuldergrubs, to take one particularly extreme example). I’ll be curious to see what the naturopathologist’s report unearths.

The train itself was discovered lodged in a cosmic protrusion several miles below the track, with only the fourteen dead in attendance — none of whom were particular forthcoming in regard to the whereabouts of the survivors (which based on ticket sales at Westpoint is estimated to number in the low-seventies, though fare-dodgers are abundant no matter where you go so the actual count is likely much higher).

Preliminary examination of the crash site revealed a menacing hollow puncturing one of the central carriages, leading to an as-yet-undetermined location that no doubt isn’t of this dimension and no doubt is where this mysterious garden entity originated from. A rescue team has been dispatched to attempt to recover the survivors and find out more about the nature of the killer plant, which is currently being remanded in a secure green house on the Demon Road’s main allotment.

A replacement bus service has been provided while the area is swept for spores, accessible via the rondel’s lower fringe — though in all honesty you’d probably be better off just walking.