Driver in fatal Bedfordshire crash passed red signal, report finds

The driver of a train that ploughed into the back of another service in Bedfordshire last week, killing him and injuring more than 160 people, passed a red signal without stopping moments before the collision, investigators have said. Shaun Burton, 60, was at the controls of the London-bound Luton airport express from Corby when it struck a stationary Nottingham-to-London train near Elstow at about 5.15pm on Friday. An interim report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) found that Burton’s train had proceeded past a red signal, its brakes activating only nine seconds before impact. At that point the train was travelling at about 76mph; its speed had reduced to 49mph when it hit the stationary train. The RAIB said it was not yet possible to determine what indication the driver received from the automatic warning system (AWS) equipment fitted to the train. Unless the driver acknowledges an AWS alert, it should automatically trigger the emergency brake. The stopped train, a new Hitachi-built Aurora class 810 model brought into service by East Midlands Railway within the past six months, had halted unexpectedly because of a fault with its AWS equipment, according to the RAIB. Data suggests the signal behind that train was red. CCTV from Bedford station showed Burton’s train leaving the platform and passing a yellow caution light – a signal to prepare to stop at a red ahead – before later passing the red light. The absence of a train protection and warning system (TPWS), designed to automatically stop trains that pass red signals, on that stretch of the Midland mainline has drawn criticism. Dave Calfe, general secretary of the train drivers’ union Aslef, 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.” Fifty-three people remain in hospital, eight in a critical condition, British Transport Police confirmed. Passenger Pete Knapp described the crash as “like a bomb explosion”. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of the driver and sent his “deepest sympathies” to his family. The RAIB said its full investigation would consider “the actions of those involved and any factors that may have influenced them”.