Bedford train crash LIVE: Train driver killed in crash named as investigations continue

Bedford train crash LIVE: Train driver killed in crash named as investigations continue A train driver has died and nine people are in critical condition after two passenger trains crashed between Bedford and Luton on Friday, leaving at least 89 others injured The train driver killed in the Bedford train crash has been named as tributes have been paid to the "enormously popular" staff member. Shaun Burton, 60, was driving the Corby train to London St Pancras when it crashed into the back of a Nottingham train going to the same destination on Friday, June 19. On Sunday, June 21, Mr Burton's family has released a tribute to him, along with a picture, saying they're "devastated" by their loss. Mr Burton has also been described as "dedicated to the job, devoted to his colleagues and enormously popular at his depot" by Dave Calfe, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers' union. Mr Calfe added that Mr Burton became a train driver seven years ago. The railway where the crash happened will be closed until June 28 while a "complex recovery operation" takes place on the line, Network Rail has announced. The collision injured 100 people in total, with nine of them in critical condition. Did you witness the crash or were you on board? Email livenews@reachplc.com Key Events Thameslink has confirmed it will not run any train services between Luton and Bedford until at least Friday (June 26). A spokesperson for the railway operator said: "If your journey is on the Midland Main Line between Luton and Bedford, please only travel if your journey is essential. If you do need to travel, please check before you set off and allow at least 60 minutes additional time. "Disruption is expected throughout this period, and services that are able to run as far as Luton (from London) will be reduced." No services will run from Leagrave, Harlington, Flitwick and Bedford between Monday, June 22, and Friday, June 26, Thameslink confirmed, with a spokesperson adding: "If you are travelling to or from any of these stations, you will need to use an alternative route or the limited rail replacement bus service where available. "East Midlands Railway customers can travel with Thameslink and Great Northern services during this time." A temporary road has been built on the field next to the train track where the collision took place and will be used by cranes that will contribute to the "complex" recovery operation. The process will see two 110-tonne rail-mounted Kirow cranes lift the carriages from the site before a road-mounted crane will move them onto a specialised trailer specialised in carrying extremely heavy equipment. Read the full story here. Dave Calfe, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, has also paid tribute to Shaun Burton, the train driver killed in the Bedford train crash. He said: "We are all heartbroken by the death of Shaun Burton which leaves a hole in the lives of his family, friends, and colleagues, which will never be filled. "Shaun, a driver at East Midlands Railway, joined the railway relatively late in life. He loved public transport – he used to work on buses and coaches – before he became a train driver seven years ago. "He was dedicated to the job, and devoted to his colleagues and enormously popular at his depot. The railway family grieves his passing; no-one should go off to work in the morning and not come home. "Our thoughts are with his family and friends tonight." The train driver killed in Friday's collision has now been named as 60-year-old Shaun Burton. His family said they are devastated by their loss as they released a picture of him. Read more here. No further details have been revealed regarding the investigation carried out by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) into Friday's train crash. The latest RAIB statement reads: "RAIB inspectors continue to gather evidence at the site of yesterday's collision between two trains near Elstow. "RAIB will conduct a full, independent safety investigation into this tragic accident. We will provide a further update in the coming days once we know more." RAIB was created at the recommendation of Lord Cullen following an inquiry into the Ladbroke Grove rail accident in October 1999, when a Thames Trains (Thameslink) passenger train collided almost head-on with a First Great Western (Great Western Railway) passenger train. A total of 31 people were killed and 417 injured, making the Paddington crash one of the worst rail accidents of the 20th century in the UK. RAIB then became operational in October 2005 as the independent body for investigating accidents and incidents on mainline railways, metros, tramways and heritage railways throughout the UK. The body is fully independent and its investigations focus solely on improving safety. RAIB is, therefore, not a prosecuting body and can't apportion blame or liability as a result. The cause of Friday's crash remains "very hard to tell", Peter Hicks, railway systems consultant, told The Times. "I think it comes down to human error or a system fault, or some kind of interaction from the environment outside," he said. "They [the investigators] will get downloads from the systems on the trains to say what inputs the drivers gave, and outputs from the signalling system. "And they will be the ones who can say what the root cause and what the contributory causes were." From Monday (June 22) until at least Friday (June 26), Thameslink services will not run between Luton and Bedford. Passengers planning to travel on the Midland Main Line between Luton and Bedford are advised to travel only if their journey is essential and to allow at least 60 minutes of additional travel time, National Rail said. Disruption is expected throughout the period, with services running between London and Luton also reduced. The following stations will have no Thameslink service: - Bedford - Flitwick - Harlington - Leagrave From Monday (June 22) until at least Friday (June 26), East Midlands Railway (EMR) will operate one train per hour on the following routes: - Sheffield - Bedford - Nottingham - Bedford - Kettering - Corby There will be no EMR service south of Bedford. "While investigations are still at an early stage, current indications are that this was a tragic isolated incident," said Ellie Burrows, Network Rail Eastern regional managing director. "We are focused on the safe reopening of the railway and getting services running as quickly as possible. "During this time, our message to passengers is clear - please expect disruption to services through this area for the majority of next week and only travel if absolutely necessary." Network Rail has announced that rail services will be disrupted until June 28. A "complex recovery operation" has begun to remove the damaged trains and carriages from the railway line, it said. Engineers will then need to assess the damage and complete repairs. In an update, National Rail has said all lines between London St Pancras International and Bedford remain closed today due to planned engineering works. No trains will run between London St Pancras International and Bedford due to Friday's collision near Bedford. The following routes are affected: - East Midlands Railway between London St Pancras International and Corby / Leicester / Nottingham / Sheffield - Thameslink between Brighton / Rainham (Kent) and Bedford Rail expert Phil Haigh said railway personnel are generally trained to follow the indications of their safety systems. The former editor of RAIL magazine told The Telegraph that train safety systems "are usually really, really reliable" and said he was "mystified as to how the [train] at the back got to where it got [...] unless there was a fault with the signalling system, or unless the driver passed a red signal". British Transport Police have urged the public not to speculate on the causes of the crash while an investigation is still taking place. “There will be a lot of questions as to what exactly happened on (Friday) night, said chief constable Lucy D’Orsi. “I would like to reassure everyone that specialist investigators from British Transport Police are working with colleagues at the Rail Accident Investigation Branch to gather the facts and determine what has happened. “They are extremely experienced and I would ask that we all refrain from speculation.” The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has said it is conducting a "full, independent safety investigation into this tragic accident". Railway systems consultant Peter Hicks told The Times that it's "very hard to tell" what caused the crash. "I think it comes down to human error or a system fault, or some kind of interaction from the environment outside," he said. "They [the investigators] will get downloads from the systems on the trains to say what inputs the drivers gave, and outputs from the signalling system. And they will be the ones who can say what the root cause and what the contributory causes were." The Police Federation of England and Wales has paid tribute to those affected by the train crash near Bedford. In response to a user on X who asked whether services between Bedford and London would remain suspended after the weekend, Thameslink said: "Hi, Our teams are currently working to understand the service for tomorrow and we will provide an update later today." The rail service directed the user to updates on its website. "If you were unable to travel yesterday, your ticket will be accepted for travel on all Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern services today and for future dates," a notice on the Thameslink website states. "We'll do what we can to help you continue your journey by rail. Where this isn't possible, our colleagues will advise on alternative arrangements." Following the incident, while the Midland Main Line remains closed at Bedford, train operators including Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern are accepting East Midlands Railway (EMR) tickets. If journeys are affected, tickets are being accepted on alternative routes. Where passengers choose to travel with EMR once the line has reopened, connecting tickets with other operators will also be valid on the day of travel. Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Susan Lousada has paid tribute to those involved in Friday's crash near Bedford. She wrote on X: "As Bedfordshire continues to come to terms with yesterday’s tragic rail accident, our thoughts remain with all those who were injured, affected, or anxiously awaiting news of loved ones." Experts are continuing to investigate the fatal train crash near Bedford in which 100 people were injured. The collision, which killed a train driver and left nine people in a critical condition in hospital, involved two East Midlands Railway (EMR) trains, with one crashing into the rear of the other on the same line shortly after 5pm on Friday. British Transport Police said more than 80 people were treated in hospital on Friday night and that 28 people remained in hospital on Saturday morning. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said on Saturday that its inspectors continued to gather evidence at the scene. "RAIB inspectors continue to gather evidence at the site of yesterday's collision between two trains near Elstow," RAIB said via a statement shared to X. "RAIB will conduct a full, independent safety investigation into this tragic accident. We will provide a further update in the coming days once we know more." Passenger Pete Knapp described people “crying, screaming” and said some seemed to have major injuries after the crash on Friday, where the front of the 4.40pm departure from Corby to London St Pancras was crushed when it crashed into the rear of the 3.50pm departure from Nottingham, to the same destination. The Corby train also had damage to the rear of the carriages which had been shunted into ones in front. Dr Knapp told the Press Association: “There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke. “People were crying, screaming, people were so scared and confused.” The 40-year-old said he saw people with “life-threatening, major injuries, minor injuries” as well as “people with bandages, people who couldn’t see straight”, while others like him were still able to walk. A furious train passenger has lashed out over Friday's train collision in Bedford that killed one, and left a further 99 people injured with 28 of those still in hospital. Passenger Brett Byatt has hit out as he believes the accident was preventable. He told the BBC he was among three or four people in his carriage who were not injured, adding: “Everyone else had either a serious wound that was bleeding profusely, or a situation where they couldn’t stand, or couldn’t move their neck, or I saw a woman’s snapped leg.” Mr Byatt, a teacher, who lives in Bedford, said he was feeling “angry” the morning after the collision. “I don’t know at whom, who specifically, but it’s more about we’ve got one of the oldest railway networks and signal failures happen a lot, and now I’m just wondering… why wasn’t that signalled to my train and why did that train driver lose his life over this?” he said. Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the collision between two EMR trains yesterday are still ongoing. No further information has been released to the public this evening and so a number of key questions remain unanswered. - Why was the leading train stopped (or moving very slowly)? - Why didn't the following train stop? - Did the signalling system operate correctly? - Did train protection systems fail? - Was there a problem with one of the trains? - What role did human factors play? - How severe was the impact and why were so many people injured? Read the full story here. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander explained works are carried out to understand the circumstance of the crash so that "lessons are learned". Asked about the cause of the collision, she said: "It is too early to speculate and that's why it's so important that the inspectors from the rail accident investigation branch were there very quickly. "They will do a thorough piece of work to establish the cause of this incident and to make sure that those lessons are learned, so that no one has to go through an experience like this again when they're using the railways in the UK." Read more here. A total of 28 people are still in hospital following yesterday's crash, with nine of them in critical condition. The collision, which involved two East Midlands Railway (EMR) trains, killed a train driver and injured 100 in total. The train coming from Corby crashed into the rear of the train from Nottingham, killing the driver of the Corby train. Speaking at a press conference near the scene on Saturday, British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said: "Tragically, the driver of one of the trains died in the collision. "His family have been informed and our deepest condolences are with them, his friends, and his colleagues at East Midlands Railway. "The driver’s family, as you would expect, are being supported by specially trained officers at this difficult time." Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said in a post on X today that he had spoken with the chief executive of East of England Ambulance Service. He said: "I expressed my gratitude to the air ambulance crews, the emergency services who responded under extremely difficult circumstances, as well as the NHS staff taking care of the injured. "My thoughts are with all those affected by this devastating incident." Simon Bentley and his wife were also on one of the trains involved in the collision. A passenger on the train going from Nottingham to St Pancras has described the "almighty impact" he and his wife felt during the collision. Simon Bentley said he was travelling from Kettering to London with his partner when he felt the train brake "really hard, which seemed odd". He told the BBC: "I think [we're] actually just really relieved that we're both still here. We're very lucky and obviously very, very sad about what's happened to the driver." Mr Bentley added that, following the impact, one of the cabin doors smashed and objects were "everywhere all flying around". Another London-bound passenger, Brett Byatt, explained passengers "went flying into one another". He told the BBC he heard a "boom" followed by "shrieks and groans of pain" and that he witnessed a woman with her leg "completely snapped". Mr Byatt, who was one of only a handful of people in his carriage who escaped uninjured, said: "Everyone else had either a serious wound that was bleeding profusely, or a situation where they couldn’t stand or couldn’t move their neck." Paul Gates, deputy chief paramedic at East of England Ambulance Service, said a total of 100 people were injured in the crash, along with one person - the Corby train driver - who died a the scene. Of those injured, 11 sustained very serious injuries, 32 were seriously injured and 57 suffered minor injuries. Those with less serious injuries were treated at the scene or taken to hospital, with a total of 64 people taken to six hospitals. Inspectors from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) remain at the scene of the train collision to establish the circumstances of the incident. A statement released this afternoon reads: "RAIB inspectors continue to gather evidence at the site of yesterday's collision between two trains near Elstow. "RAIB will conduct a full, independent safety investigation into this tragic accident. We will provide a further update in the coming days once we know more." RAIB independently investigates accidents to improve railway safety and inform the industry and the public. A number of alternative train operators, including LNER, Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern, are accepting EMR tickets while the Midland Mainline remains closed at Bedford. A statement from LNER reads: "The thoughts of LNER are with all the customers and our railway colleagues impacted by the incident on East Midlands Railway on Friday, 19 June. "For as long as the Midland Mainline is closed at Bedford, train operators, including LNER, are accepting tickets for EMR customers. "If your journey is affected, we'll accept tickets on any alternative route. If you decide to travel on EMR once the line is reopened, then your connecting ticket on other operators will be valid on that other day too." Avanti West Coast has also stated that customers with EMR tickets can use any of its services to travel to their destination until the end of service on Sunday, June 21. Meanwhile, Thameslink customers who were unable to travel yesterday can use their tickets to travel on all Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern services today (June 20) and future dates. A Thameslink statement reads: "We’ll do what we can to help you continue your journey by rail. Where this isn’t possible, our colleagues will advise on alternative arrangements. "For as long as the Midland Mainline is closed at Bedford, train operators, including Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern, are accepting tickets for EMR customers. "If your journey is affected, we'll accept tickets on any alternative route. If you choose to travel with EMR once the line has reopened, your connecting ticket with other operators will also be valid on the day you travel." Police and network rail crews remain at the scene of the fatal train crash near Bedford. Reporters have been allowed onto a field next to the railway line to get a closer view of the scene. The front of the train from Corby has been crushed where it collided with the rear of the train from Nottingham. On the rear train, which has Luton Airport Express livery, there is visible damage to the rear of the carriages which have been shunted into ones in front. Most of the carriage doors are open on both trains. There is a gap in the hedges where crews are accessing the tracks. Ellie Burrows, Regional Managing Director Network Rail East, said: "I want to echo what has already been said. This is a profoundly sad day for everyone affected by this incident, and for the wider railway family. "Our thoughts are with all those involved, particularly the family, friends and colleagues of the driver who tragically lost his life. "I would also like to thank the emergency services and railway colleagues who have responded with such professionalism and dedication throughout today. "This will be a complex recovery operation. We have significant railway resources deployed on the ground and teams from across the industry are working closely together to support the response, recover the railway safely and minimise disruption wherever possible. "The focus now is on supporting those affected and working with the relevant authorities as they investigate what happened. We will provide every assistance we can to the RAIB, British Transport Police and other agencies involved. "For customers, we would continue to encourage people to check National Rail Enquiries and operator websites for the latest travel information." Paul Gates, Deputy Chief Paramedic at the East of England Ambulance Service, said: “The East of England Ambulance Service would like to thank everyone involved in the large-scale emergency response to this major incident. “We would also like to thank those affected for their cooperation and understanding while our crews worked swiftly to assess, triage and treat a high number of casualties. “Tragically, one person died at the scene. Eleven people sustained very serious injuries, a further 22 were seriously injured, and 56 others suffered minor injuries. Those with less serious injuries were treated at the scene or taken to hospital where necessary. “In total, we transported 54 people to six hospitals. “We dispatched a significant number of resources, including more than 20 ambulances, specialist Hazardous Area Response Teams, and six air ambulances. “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this incident. We also extend our sincere thanks to all emergency service colleagues for their swift, coordinated and professional response.” The chief constable added: “We declared a major incident last night and the emergency response was significant involving a joint operation between ourselves, the fire and rescue and ambulance services, Bedfordshire police, the National Air Service, and our colleagues at National Rail and East Midlands railway. “I would really like to take this opportunity To thank all who responded for their absolutely Incredible work in tragic and challenging circumstances. They were outstanding. “I also want to thank local people who showed immense kindness to those stranded on trains and to the casualties.”