Case Reference: GC–FIR–003
Report by: Insp. Tomas Reed
Rank: City Watch, Foundry Ward Detail (Temporary Gearcross Assignment)
Assigned Under: Senior Investigator (Protagonist)
Date: 19th Day of Ashwane, 6:55 a.m.
Primary Location: Brassveil Railway Station – Passenger Platform / Goods Trains Platform
Incident Classification: Mass Casualty Accident / Rail Transit Failure
At approximately 6:02 a.m., Watch units were dispatched to the Brassveil Railway Station following reports of a passenger train entering the platform at full transit speed during what was believed to be a scheduled clearance window.
Fourteen civilians were struck and killed.
Seven additional individuals sustained critical injuries.
The incident occurred during peak commuter hours.
Rail operations were halted immediately following impact.
The platform was crowded, orderly, and compliant. Witnesses describe no panic prior to the incident. Bells had rung as scheduled. Boarding lines were formed. Platform guards were present and stationary.
Impact occurred without warning.
The train did not decelerate until after passing through the platform boundary. Bodies were thrown forward along the rail bed and adjacent stonework. Damage to infrastructure was minimal compared to loss of life.
Blood pooled between rails and seeped into drainage grooves designed for oil and water runoff.
A freight convoy had cleared minutes earlier. Cargo manifests indicate no hazardous materials in transit. Signal systems remained operational throughout.
Fatalities: 14
Injured: 7 (critical condition)
Victims include:
Railway clerks
Dock loaders
Two municipal messengers
One minor accompanying a guardian
No Watch officers were injured.
Initial findings indicate a temporal misalignment between:
Reported platform clearance time
Passenger notification time
Actual train arrival time
The train entered the platform three minutes earlier than expected.
This discrepancy is sufficient to explain the casualties.
Multiple staff members report announcing the clearance window based on the official time provided internally.
No staff member reports acting independently or deviating from protocol.
Officials state the arrival time distributed to station personnel was derived from pneumatic mail confirmation, not direct clock reference.
Mail logs confirm delivery of a time canister marked “Priority – Schedule Confirmation.”
Clerks assert the canister content reflected the information provided to them.
No record exists of alteration.
A full inspection of the master clock, subsidiary chronometers, and mechanical logs shows:
No malfunction
No deviation
No unauthorized adjustment
The clock was correct.
It had not been wrong.
Signal lights functioned normally
Track switches were correctly set
Braking systems engaged only after platform incursion
No mechanical failure detected
The system responded to the time it was given.
The incident is classified as a tragic transit accident resulting from human error in time relay.
Responsibility is assigned diffusely across:
Railway communications
Mail confirmation procedures
Platform announcement protocols
No individual acted with negligence sufficient to warrant criminal charge.
No mechanical system failed.
The case is deemed closed.
Mandatory retraining ordered for railway staff
Review of mail confirmation procedures scheduled
Compensation forms issued to affected families
Rail services resumed within six hours.
The clock was inspected first.
It was inspected last.
It was never wrong.
Every system involved insists it relied on another.
Every record confirms compliance.
Every correction arrived after it was needed.
The train did not arrive early.
The people were told the wrong time.
I cannot identify who changed it.
I can only confirm that it changed without resistance.
Fourteen people died in the space between accuracy and permission.
The station returned to function before the blood fully dried.
Bells rang.
Schedules resumed.
Delays were corrected.
If this was an accident, it was the most efficient one I have ever seen.
Respectfully submitted,
Inspector Tomas Reed
City Watch, Brassveil