Twenty-eight people remain in hospital, nine of them in a critical condition, following a train crash near Bedford, police have confirmed. A train driver was killed and 100 people injured when two East Midlands Railway (EMR) services to London St Pancras collided at 17:15 BST on Friday.
Injuries and Response
Eleven people were very seriously injured, a further 32 were described as injured, and 57 had minor injuries, the East of England Ambulance Service confirmed. Speaking near the scene on Saturday, Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi of British Transport Police (BTP) said the crash was being investigated and asked people to refrain from speculating about what happened.
“The driver’s family, as you would expect, are being supported by specially trained officers at this difficult time,” she added. BTP declared a major incident following the collision, which took place just south of Elstow, near the road interchange of the A421 and A6.
Service Disruption and Investigation
EMR services to and from London St Pancras have been suspended throughout the weekend, with trains starting and ending journeys in Bedford. “There will of course be a lot of questions as to what happened last night,” added D’Orsi. “I would like to reassure everyone that specialist investigators from BTP 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.”
Emergency Response and Witness Accounts
Multiple air ambulance helicopters, road vehicles, and some 70 firefighters were involved in the immediate aftermath. Will Rogers, managing director of EMR, said it was on the scene with Network Rail and emergency services to ensure those affected got the care and support they needed. “This is a profoundly sad day for the rail community,” he added. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said the union was “devastated” to learn the driver, a former RMT rep, had died.
The two trains involved were the 16:40 EMR train from Corby and the 15:50 Nottingham to London St Pancras service. Dr Peter Knapp, who was travelling in the front carriage of the train that went into the other, said: “When I got up, I saw all of the chairs everywhere. It felt like I’d been in a bomb explosion. When I got up, I saw people’s bloodied faces and people’s legs looked broken and there was smoke everywhere.” Shola Mene said she heard a “big bang” and “people flew from their seats. There was a lot of blood. A lot of people had facial injuries,” she added.
