How did Bedford train crash happen? The unanswered questions about UK’s worst train disaster in 20 years that has left one dead and 100 injured

Unanswered questions are mounting following a train crash that left one driver dead and nine people fighting for their lives in hospital in the worst rail disaster in 20 years.

A total of 99 people were injured, 32 seriously, when the Luton Airport Express service from Corby to St Pancras crashed into the back of the train from Nottingham to St Pancras at around 5.15pm on Friday.

This was the worst rail accident in the UK since a train derailed at Grayrigg, Cumbria, in 2007; One person died and 100 people were injured.

Passengers suffered broken bones and were forced to ‘spit blood’ when two East Midlands Railway trains collided after the Nottingham service stopped on the tracks due to a technical fault.

Some passengers reported being ‘thrown’ from their seats onto chairs and tables in front, before seeing the carriages fill with smoke; however, the fire brigade confirmed that this was not the result of any fire.

British Transport Police Chief Lucy D’Orsi said a major incident had been declared and more than 80 people were treated in hospital last night, with 28 still in hospital on Saturday morning.

Brett Byatt, a teacher traveling on the Corby train that crashed into a stationary Nottingham carriage, said: ‘I knew something was wrong as the train never slowed down from Bedford to Luton and I felt it brake.’

Passengers were furious at Britain’s aging rail network, amid reports of a technical fault in the first train’s automatic warning system (AWS).

The AWS system is designed to automatically apply the brakes if the driver does not detect an approaching red signal.

It is understood the Luton Airport Express train collided with another fixed EMR service while its driver telephoned maintenance staff to report the problem.

Investigators and police remained at the scene near Bedford throughout Saturday as they began investigating the possible cause of the crash.

British Transport Police officers, Rail Accident Investigation Branch officers and Network Rail are working at the scene of the accident

Passengers filmed the aftermath of the incident, which showed panicked passengers lying on the ground and shouting for help.

Members of the inspector team inspect the line and train at the accident scene

What was the malfunction of the automatic warning system in the stopped train?

Although it was reported that there was a malfunction in the AWS on the stopped train, it is not known what this was or why it brought the train to a halt.

Transport expert and former travel journalist Simon Calder said the Nottingham train came to a halt ‘due to a problem with the automatic warning system which alerts train drivers if there is a red signal ahead’.

It is understood that the driver of this train was on the phone with maintenance staff to relay information about the fault when the Luton Express crashed into the rear of the train.

It is not known whether the second driver, who is thought to have died in the collision, was informed that there was a stopped train ahead or that there was a fault in the AWS.

Due to confusion over the malfunction, following the collision, personnel on both trains took action to activate a second warning system, which caused all signals in the area to turn red to prevent further collisions.

Rail expert Tony Miles told the BBC that staff “acted very quickly to protect the railway” by “laying cables along adjacent tracks” to trigger a secondary signaling system if the first one failed.

Was there a red signal and if so why did the driver pass it?

Investigators are investigating whether a malfunction in the stationary train’s safety systems played a role in the crash

A crime scene manager from the British Transport Police photographs the inside of an electrical box on the side of a train track near where the crash occurred

In his interview with Modern Railways magazine, Mr Miles said authorities needed to establish whether the signals in the area were red and whether the Luton Express train from Corby had passed them anyway.

‘Were the signals on red and the train passing them, or did the signals indicate the line was open and if so how did they know when the train ahead was stopped?’ he said.

He continued: ‘It should not be possible to clear the signals as long as the runway is occupied.’

Mr Miles said a driver could theoretically decide to go through the red signal, but ‘normally they only do so because they are given permission by the signal box because there is a fault’.

Investigators will examine whether the stopped train and the AWS error led to a red signal on the path of the second train.

If so, attention will undoubtedly turn to whether the driver saw and passed the signal and was given assurances that permission was granted before making that decision.

Did the driver make a mistake or could he have gotten sick?

Since the circumstances of the collision are unknown, investigators will surely consider whether a mistake was made or whether the second driver became ill in some way.

Images from the scene show that the collision was not at high speed; This confirms passenger reports on the Corby train that they felt the service brake before the collision.

This could indicate that they saw the train and were trying to avert disaster, or that something else went wrong. Even if the driver brakes, experts have noted that the weight of passenger trains means they take a long time to slow down, and even if they are moving very slowly they can pose a significant danger in the event of a crash.

Mr Miles told Sky News: ‘The question must be how the train behind came into contact with the train it was following.

‘Obviously he either passed the signal telling him to stop, or the signal was faulty, or the driver made a mistake somehow, or didn’t read the signal, or something.’

Although an error was possible, experts pointed to advanced signaling and warning systems that should have prevented the second train from hitting the stationary train, assuming the stationary message was conveyed correctly.

The driver of the Luton Express may have been trying to slow the train and avoid the accident in the moments before the tragedy, or he may have suffered a medical event such as a heart attack or stroke.

There is no evidence at this stage that the driver of the moving train was ill, and the investigations are still in their early stages.

Will the ‘black boxes’ of the trains reveal what happened?

East Midlands Railway train was apparently stationary when it was struck by the Luton Airport Express

While the investigation into the accident continues, no official statement has been made about the cause of the accident.

In the aerial photo taken yesterday, it can be seen that police and railway engineers were at the scene after the accident.

Investigators “already know” what happened in the Bedford rail crash from “second-by-second” airline-style black box recorders on trains, a railway expert said today.

Mr Miles said they recorded ‘every button pressed and every control activated’ on both trains.

The UK’s train network is generally regarded as one of the safest in the world, and each is fitted with a ‘black box’ that tracks its location, movements and controls.

Some details, such as train departure locations and times, are already known.

The first train left Nottingham for London St Pancras at 15.50, while the second – the Luton Express – left Corby for St Pancras at 16.40.

They were both going in the same direction and towards the same goal.

“They will know every button pressed,” Mr. Miles said.

‘They will know every control activated on both trains and receive second-by-second data from the trains about what is happening.

‘So I suspect there are probably people who already have a reasonable understanding of what’s going on, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to publish it.’

Was the moving train allowed to cross points to reach the other line?

Investigators will examine how the two trains might have collided physically and finally examine whether the second train was allowed to cross the points to board the same line as the fixed Nottingham service.

Mr Miles said the route of the trains, which collided near Elstow near Bedford, meant the Luton service would have to pass through more than one series of points to reach the same track as the first train.

‘It was going quite slowly as it crossed many points to get to the other line,’ he said, so the question would be: ‘Was this allowed to be done?’

‘The drivers would stop at the red signal and talk into their radios,’ he added.

‘So the two questions will be: ‘Were the signals showing red and was the train passing them?’ or “Has there been a catastrophic problem with the electronic system that locks itself to prevent a dangerous situation from occurring?” and this then allowed the train to pass.

Did the driver see the train in time and did they have time to stop?

Analysis of satellite images shows railway lines passing through a mixed industrial and rural environment.

It may be possible that the driver did not see the stationary train stopping well ahead of the track.

The railway line leaves the straight and enters a bend where the other train is stopped after the bend.

The passenger, who understood that the collision did not occur at high speed, reported that he felt the driver brake.

But the question remains whether this was done too late, as experts say the length and weight of the trains mean they need a long time to slow down. This cloud explains the accident if the diver moved too late because he did not see the other train.

Speaking at a press conference close to the scene on Saturday, British Transport Police Chief Lucy D’Orsi said: ‘Tragically, the driver of one of the trains was killed in the collision.

His family have been informed and our deepest condolences are with them, their friends and colleagues at East Midlands Railway.

‘The driver’s family, as you can imagine, are being supported by specially trained police officers during this difficult time.’

He thanked the emergency services and railway personnel for their intervention in the incident.