Bedford Rail Crash: Driver Passed Red Signal, Hit Stationary Train

The train whose driver died in the Bedford rail crash passed a danger signal without stopping – while the train it hit had halted on the line because its warning system had wrongly caused it to brake, investigators believe.

An initial report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) into the crash, which killed a train driver and injured more than 100 people, said it was not yet clear whether the train’s automatic warning system alerted the driver of the southbound Luton airport express from Corby that he had passed a red signal.

Unless the driver acknowledges an alert from the automatic warning system (AWS), it should automatically trigger the train’s emergency brake, the RAIB said.

CCTV evidence showed the train going past the red light, while data from a black box showed it braked nine seconds before impact. The train’s speed reduced from 76mph to 49mph before colliding with a stationary Nottingham-London train on the same track a couple of miles outside Bedford station at Elstow.

Investigators said the stopped train had halted unexpectedly because a fault had developed with the AWS equipment fitted to it, which caused the brakes to apply.

The collision between two East Midlands Railway (EMR) trains occurred last Friday. The stopped train from Nottingham was a brand-new Aurora class 810 model built by Hitachi, brought into service within the past six months on EMR.

The driver killed in the Bedford crash was Shaun Burton, 60, described by EMR as a “dedicated railway professional” who had “touched the lives of colleagues and passengers alike”.

Eight of the 100 injured passengers remain in critical condition, while 53 more remain in hospital, the RAIB said.

Investigations continue but it appears that another train protection and warning system (TPWS), widely used on the railway system and designed to automatically stop trains if they pass a red signal, was not installed on this stretch of the Midland mainline.

Dave Calfe, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, said: “What will concern passengers, and what concerns us, is that there are safety systems that can be put in place to prevent such accidents happening and the network should have been able to cope.”

He said the union would wait for the full investigation to understand what went wrong, but added: “If TPWS had been installed, this accident would not have happened, the driver would not have died, and no passengers would have been injured.”

The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said the government would “leave no stone unturned to understand what happened. The RAIB will publish their full report in due course and I will consider those findings with the utmost care and take any action necessary.”

Will Rogers, managing director of EMR, said: “Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences remain with those affected. Given the complexity of the issues being examined, it is important that the independent investigation is allowed to reach its conclusions.”

The managing director of Network Rail’s eastern region, Ellie Burrows, said: “Incidents like this are extremely rare on Britain’s railways which remain among the safest in the world but, when they do happen, we are determined to fully understand why.

She pledged to “carefully consider any findings as they emerge – acting quickly on any lessons and sharing learning across the industry”.

Disruption on the line is expected to continue through the week while engineers continue work to access the crash site, remove the damaged trains, and complete any necessary repairs to the track.

The crash was the fourth involving passenger trains on the UK railway since 2020, after more than a decade without any similar serious incident.