More than 50 remain in hospital with eight fighting for their lives days after Bedford train crash that killed driver

Days after the train crash in Bedford, 53 people remain in hospital and eight people are fighting for their lives.

More than 100 people have been treated since a train rear-ended another train on the same line after 17:00 on Friday.

Shaun Burton, 60, died instantly when the Luton Airport Express he was driving crashed into another service.

On Sunday, a moment of silence was held for the ‘sacrificing’ officer and his family was supported by expert officers from BTP.

Police today confirmed 53 people remained in hospital but said numbers ‘change frequently’.

The East Midlands Railway (EMR) service is thought to have ground to a halt due to a fault in a safety system that alerts train drivers if there is a red signal ahead.

The driver of the train, which was stopped in Nottingham, was reporting the malfunction to the staff on the phone when the other one hit him.

It is thought that the second train may not have triggered the automatic warning system normally used when a train passes a yellow or red signal without braking.

Normally this causes an alarm to sound in the driver’s cabin. If this warning is ignored, the train protection system automatically brakes. It is unknown whether this malfunction caused the accident.

Specialist crane equipment to be used to lift the two trains from the tracks also arrived at the crash site this morning.

Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy said: ‘First and foremost, the thoughts of everyone at BTP are with the family and colleagues of driver Shaun Burton and everyone injured and affected by Friday’s collision.

‘This is a priority investigation for BTP and our experienced senior investigating officer is working in parallel with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch to establish the full circumstances of how this incident occurred.

‘We have recovered personal items from two trains and will provide an update shortly on how affected passengers can retrieve their belongings.

‘Friday evening witnessed a horrific incident which created complexity and difficulty for all involved. I am deeply humbled by the behavior of passengers and staff on the trains, and by the professionalism of our officers, the wider emergency services and our partners.

‘The rescue operation is currently ongoing and work continues this week to remove the damaged trains and carriages and allow the railway to reopen.

Police want to speak to all passengers on the train and have issued a QR code so witnesses can contact them.

Both services were heading towards London before the accident. The first, the service from Nottingham to St Pancras at 15.50, stopped on the track.

It was then rear-ended by the 16.40 Corby train, which had stopped at Bedford station just two minutes earlier.

This was the highest number of casualties in any railway disaster in the UK for 20 years.

Mr Burton’s family said in a statement yesterday that they were “devastated by his loss” and their thoughts were “with those affected by this incident”.

The much-loved driver joined East Midlands Railway in 2019 and became a Mainline Train Driver in 2024, where he frequently worked on the Corby to London route.

He previously held roles at Dews Coaches and Arriva Bus before working in the railway business.

A former colleague paid tribute to him on social media, describing him as a ‘wonderful person’.

Posting on Facebook, he added: ‘He had a gift for words; he always knew exactly what to say, offering wisdom or comfort when it was needed most.

‘His wit was effortless, his humor was unforgettable, and his intelligence shone through every time I spoke to him.

‘But beyond his sharp wit and quick smile, he was a truly wonderful man. Kind, generous and genuine, he will leave a lasting impression on everyone lucky enough to know him.’

Tributes poured in for the 60-year-old, who was also a local ward councilor

Driver Shaun Burton died in a crash between two trains in Bedford on Friday afternoon.

Rail expert Tony Miles of Modern Railways magazine said the accident was puzzling because it should not have been possible to clear the signals if the track was full.

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

He added: ‘Obviously this was a rear-end collision, they were going in the same direction so for some reason the rear was going faster than the one he caught.

‘The question then must be how the train came into contact with the train it was following.

‘Either he passed a signal telling him to stop, or the signal was faulty, or the driver made a mistake somehow. ‘All these different scenarios have happened over the years.’

The black box was pulled from the wreckage Sunday morning.

The data recorder will help investigators piece together what happened before the crash.

Specialist crane equipment has also arrived at the crash site, just south of the Elstow junction between the A421 and A6, where it will be used to lift two trains from the tracks.

One survivor compared the impact of the crash to ‘a bomb explosion’ and said most people in the car ‘lost a lot of blood’ or were unable to stand.

Passenger Pete Knapp described people ‘crying, screaming’ and said some appeared to be seriously injured.

Dr Knapp said: ‘I was thrown into the front chair for a moment and then I saw smoke.

‘People were crying, people were screaming, people were very scared and confused.’

The 40-year-old man said he saw ‘life-threatening people, seriously injured people, slightly injured people’, ‘people with bandages, people who cannot see properly’, while others like him could still walk.

Brett Byatt, another passenger on the ship, told the BBC he was among three or four people in his car who were uninjured, adding: ‘Everyone had either a serious wound that was bleeding profusely or something where they couldn’t stand or move their neck, or I saw one woman had her leg broken.’

Mr Byatt, a teacher who lives in Bedford, said he felt ‘angry’ the morning after the collision.

‘I don’t know from whom, from whom in particular, but it’s more to do with the fact that we have one of the oldest railway networks and signal failures are very common and now I’m just wondering… why wasn’t the signal sent to my train and why did that train driver lose his life because of it?’ he said.