The train was travelling south from Corby to London St Pancras when it slammed into the rear of another East Midlands Railway service — the 3.50pm from Nottingham to London St Pancras — at around 5.15pm on Friday near Bedford. The driver, a man whose identity has not been released, died in the collision. British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi sent her 'deepest condolences' to his family, friends and colleagues.
More than 80 people were treated in hospital after the crash, with 28 still in hospital on Saturday afternoon, nine of them in a critical condition, police said. Passenger Pete Knapp, who was on board, described the impact as 'like a bomb explosion'. Speaking to the BBC, he said: '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.' He added that he saw people with broken legs and managed to squeeze out through a gap in the doors because he is 'quite thin'.
“Nine people are in critical condition after a fatal train crash near Bedford; the driver died and passengers describe a 'bomb explosion'.”
Another passenger, Brett Byatt, told the BBC he was 'feeling pretty angry' and blamed the crash on the UK's 'oldest railway networks and signal failures'. 'Why wasn’t that signalled to my train and why did that train driver lose his life over this?' he said. Dr Pete Knapp, a passenger who posted on social media immediately after the crash, wrote: 'Sudden crash, no slowing down or horns. No warning.'
The Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said a 'thorough investigation' into how the collision happened would be carried out. Network Rail warned of a 'complex recovery operation' with no trains running between London St Pancras and Bedford over the weekend. The King said he was 'greatly saddened' by the tragedy.
Graphic footage from inside one of the carriages showed bloodied passengers lying on the floor, while others were seen sitting on the edge of the railway after evacuation with bandages around their heads. The cause of the crash remains unknown.