RAIL unions called today for safety investigations after a passenger died and 15 people were injured when two trains collided in central Wales.

British Transport Police said the collision near Llanbrynmair in Powys happened shortly before 7pm on Monday.

The injuries of the 15 passengers are not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing, and all the remaining passengers were evacuated from the trains.

Both trains were Class 158s operated by Transport for Wales (TfW) and were the 6.31pm service from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and the 7.07pm service from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury.

Rail union TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “Safety is always the number one priority on our railways and therefore it will be vital to gain a detailed understanding of what happened in this case. 

“Our union is greatly saddened by any loss of life or injury on the rail network and we send our sympathy and solidarity to the families and friends of those involved in this incident.”

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “This is a tragic incident and the thoughts of everyone at RMT are with the family and friends of the passenger who died, and all the train crew and travelling public who were injured during this accident.”

Network Rail and TfW said in a joint statement that it was a “low-speed collision” and both trains remained on the tracks.

First Minister of Wales Eluned Morgan told the Senedd: “My condolences to the family of the man who died and my thoughts are with all those involved in the rail incident in Powys.”

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch said a team of inspectors arrived at the crash site on Monday night.