A WOMAN was killed when she was hit by a train at Marsden which then ended up inside Standedge Tunnel.

The woman, who has not yet been named, died in the early hours of yesterday close to the village railway station.

It is not clear how she got on to the line, but checks were being made on a bridge carrying Station Road over the tracks.

She was struck by a TransPennine train which was on its way to Manchester Airport – and by the time the train had stopped it was around 200m inside Standedge Tunnel.

The woman is thought to have been killed instantly.

Marsden and Slaithwaite firefighters were the first on the scene, followed by paramedics.

A fire service spokesman said: “There were around 20 passengers on the train and they remained on board throughout the incident.’’

The train remained in the tunnel for around two hours before it was allowed to carry on its journey.

A British Transport Police (BTP) spokesman said: “BTP officers were called to the line near to Marsden rail station on Friday after a report that a woman had been struck by a train.

“Officers from BTP and West Yorkshire Police attended the incident which was reported to police at 5.53am and is currently being treated as non-suspicious.

“Paramedics from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service also attended but the woman, who is believed to be in her early 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

“A file will be prepared for the coroner.”

It was the second such tragedy on the rail line at Marsden in 2010.

A man killed by a train at Marsden early in March was a missing student from Suffolk.

Police had put out a nationwide appeal expressing concern for the welfare of 18-year-old Gareth Oates, of Stowmarket, but he died when he was struck by a transPennine train close to the station.

And on December 17, a woman suffered serious injuries after jumping from a railway bridge in Huddersfield.

Police were called to Longroyd Lane, in Longroyd Bridge, where the woman was discovered on the tracks.

On April 30 Joanne Victoria Bingley, 39, of Fartown, died instantly when she was hit by a First Transpennine service from Hull to Manchester at around 8.06am.

That tragedy happened near Deighton railway station.

Trains using the TransPennine line between Huddersfield and Manchester were disrupted for a short time.

The train involved in yesterday’s tragedy was the 4am York to Manchester Airport service.

The line was handed back to Network Rail at 7.47am.

Because of the incident, there were delays of up to 45 minutes between Stalybridge and Huddersfield on services up until 10am yesterday.

Routes affected were Manchester Victoria, Stalybridge, Marsden, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield and Leeds