One person has been confirmed dead and multiple injuries have been reported after two trains collided north of London on Friday.
“Officers are continuing to respond to a collision between two trains on the line in Bedford, following reports around 5.15pm today ... We know that a number of people have been injured and one person has very sadly died,” British Transport Police said in a statement on its website.
The collision left 11 people with very serious injuries, 22 seriously injured and 56 with minor injuries, the East of England Ambulance Service said in a statement.
Aerial footage of the aftermath shows the two damaged East Midlands Railway (EMR) trains with most carriages on the tracks but at least one off the rails.
RM Block
Footage shows a long line of emergency vehicles on a rural road as emergency crews and passengers of the two southbound trains gathered in the neighbouring field.
The two services involved were the 4.40pm from Corby to London St Pancras and the 3.50pm Nottingham to London St Pancras, the rail operator said.
Air ambulance helicopters are on the ground after the collision happened just south of the Elstow interchange between the A421 and the A6.
Serious injuries have reportedly been sustained by on-board staff and passengers, a British Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union spokesperson said.
Passenger Pete Knapp described people “crying, screaming” and said some seemed to have major injuries.
He told PA: “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.
“I got up and I saw a lot of people who were unable to speak, had broken legs and then I managed to get out of the train and because I’m quite thin I was able to squeeze out through the gap in the doors.”
The 40-year-old added: “My first thought was I needed to get out of the train just in case it was a terrorist explosion, I thought it was safer to get off the train.”
He said he had not felt the train slow down before the crash but other passengers told him they had.
Knapp said he saw people with “life-threatening, major injuries, minor injuries” as well as “people with bandages, people who couldn’t see straight”, while others like him were still able to walk.
He said: “I’ve got blood all over my trousers and my back hurts like hell but I’m all right.”
The crash occurred at 5.12pm leaving the “front of train okay, third carriage off rails”, he said earlier on Bluesky.
“Sudden crash, no slowing down or horns. No warning.
“No explosion, just stopped instantly,” he said.
Knapp added: “No horns, warnings, explosions, just sudden impact. No terrorism signs.”
Bedford hospital and Luton and Dunstable university hospital have both asked people to avoid attending their emergency departments “unless they have a genuine medical emergency” as they respond to the “active incident”.
EMR trains are “unable to run in or out of” London St Pancras for the rest of the day and it advised customers: “DO NOT TRAVEL this evening”.
British transport secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “deeply concerned” by the reports.
The crash appears to have been a “relatively slow speed collision” and the damage to the trains looked “fairly minimal”, a rail expert told Sky News.
Tony Miles said: “Obviously it’s a rear end collision, they were going in the same direction, so one of them, the rear one was going faster than the one it’s caught up with, for some reason. That’s not a complicated assumption.”
Bedford and Kempston MP Mohammad Yasin said he was “very sorry” to hear of the incident and would share more information “soon”.
British Transport Police said shortly before 6.45pm: “We’re responding to reports of a collision involving two trains in the Bedford area.”
It later added: “We understand that people are concerned about relatives or friends who may have been travelling on the trains involved in the incident near Bedford.
“We’re asking people not to travel to the scene and await further updates from emergency services.”
The fire and rescue service said: “Crews are currently in attendance at an incident on the railway just south of Bedford.
“Please avoid the area. Thank you for your co-operation.” – Additional reporting: PA
