An investigation has been launched after a rail worker had to be taken to hospital following an on-track collision on Kent’s high-speed network.

It happened on part of the High Speed 1 (HS1) line, near Strood, in the early hours of November 16.

The collision occurred at around 12 mph and involved part of the railway network’s specialist rail maintenance fleet.

At around 4.30am, a railway multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) – used to help clear and repair the railway line – collided with a stationary tamper, used to correct the alignment of the rails.

The tamper was being prepared for coupling to a second MPV, which was standing directly next to it.

An operator was between the tamper and the second MPV as part of the preparation for the coupling.

The crash caused the two stationary vehicles to move along the track and to strike the operator, who sustained injuries which required hospital treatment.

Three of the staff onboard the vehicles were also knocked over by the impact but were not injured.

The MPV which initially collided with the tamper also sustained minor damage.

An investigation is now being carried out by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB).

It will assess the actions of those involved, the management of the railway staff involved in the accident, the method of operation in use when the collision occurred and any underlying management factors.

Its investigation is independent of any probe being carried out by the light rail industry, or by the industry’s regulator, the Office of Road and Rail.

HS1 is a 67-mile-long high-speed rail line linking London with the Channel Tunnel portal at Dollands Moor, near Folkestone.