Nine critical after Bedford train crash kills driver

Nine people remained in critical condition Saturday after two East Midlands Railway passenger trains bound for London collided near Bedford, killing one driver and injuring scores of passengers, British Transport Police said.

The crash happened at about 5:15 p.m. Friday just south of Elstow, near the A421 and A6 road interchange, and involved the 4:40 p.m. EMR service from Corby and the 3:50 p.m. Nottingham to London St Pancras service. British Transport Police declared a major incident after the collision.

Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said 28 people remained in hospital Saturday morning, nine of them in critical condition. She said specialist investigators from British Transport Police were working with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch “to gather the facts and determine what has happened.”

“There will of course be a lot of questions as to what happened last night,” D’Orsi said near the scene. “They are extremely experienced, and I would ask that we all refrain from speculation.”

East of England Ambulance Service said 11 people suffered very serious injuries and 32 were badly or seriously hurt. The BBC reported 57 people had minor injuries, while Al Jazeera reported the ambulance service put the number of minor injuries at 56. British Transport Police said more than 80 people received hospital treatment after the crash.

The driver who died was killed at the scene. D’Orsi said the force’s “deepest condolences” were with his family, friends and colleagues, adding that his family was being supported by specially trained officers. The RMT union said it was “devastated” to learn the driver, a former RMT representative, had died.

Passengers described a violent impact and chaotic scenes inside the trains. Dr Peter Knapp, who was travelling in the front carriage of the train that struck the other, told the BBC: “When I got up, I saw all of the chairs everywhere. It felt like I’d been in a bomb explosion.” He said he saw “people’s bloodied faces” and what appeared to be broken legs, with smoke throughout the carriage.

Shola Mene said she heard a “big bang” and that “people flew from their seats.” She added: “There was a lot of blood. A lot of people had facial injuries.” Teresa Itabor, who was travelling from Wellingborough to London to celebrate her birthday, said her head hit the seat in front of her after a “massive bang.” “I opened my eyes and that’s when I saw people on the floor with blood everywhere,” she said.

Emergency crews mounted a large response. Multiple air ambulance helicopters, road vehicles and about 70 firefighters were involved, according to the BBC. Al Jazeera reported that more than 20 ambulances, specialist hazardous area rescue teams and six air ambulances were sent to the scene.

Will Rogers, managing director of EMR, said the company was working with Network Rail and emergency services to support those affected. “This is a profoundly sad day for the rail community,” he said. He also said EMR was fully supporting the Rail Accident Investigation Branch investigation.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “deeply concerned” and that it was too early to speculate on the cause. “We will make sure that there’s a thorough investigation done to establish how this collision happened and to ensure that lessons are learned so that we don’t have an incident like this ever again,” she said. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the crash “deeply concerning,” and King Charles said he was “greatly saddened,” sending sympathies to the driver’s family and those injured.

EMR suspended services to and from London St Pancras through the weekend, with trains starting and ending at Bedford. The company advised passengers to use alternative routes and said previously purchased tickets could be used with other operators at no extra cost.