Driver in fatal Bedford train crash passed red signal moments before collision
The driver of a train killed in a crash near Bedford had given a red signal just minutes before the collision, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch said.
Shaun Burton, 60, was pronounced dead at the scene after an East Midlands Railway service rear-ended another train on the same line on Friday evening.
More than 100 people were treated in hospital after the incident.
According to British Transport Police, 53 people were still in hospital as of Monday, including eight in intensive care.
Mr Burton’s train passed a red signal near the crash site at Elstow at 5.15pm on Friday, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said in its interim report on Wednesday.
He added that “it is not yet possible to tell what alert the driver received” from the automatic warning system (AWS) equipment fitted to the train.
In a tribute published by British Transport Police (BTP) earlier this week, Mr Burton’s family said: “We are devastated by his loss. Our thoughts are with those affected.”
Dave Calfe, general secretary of train drivers union Aslef, said: “We are all saddened by the death of Shaun Burton, who left a void in the lives of his family, friends and colleagues that will never be filled.
“Shaun, a driver for the East Midlands Railway, joined the railway relatively late.
“He loved public transport; he worked on buses and coaches before becoming a train driver seven years ago.”
Network Rail on Sunday launched a major operation to minimize expected significant disruption to railway lines, describing the accident as a “tragic, isolated incident”.
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