‘People were so scared and confused’
A passenger has described the horrific scenes in a train crash in Bedford that left the driver dead and dozens injured.
Pete Knapp said people were ‘crying and screaming’ after an East Midlands Railway (EMR) service smashed into the back of another train on the same line on Friday (June 19). He said some passengers on board appeared to have ‘life-threatening’ major injuries as he described the moment he was flung into the chair in front in the collision.
A train driver was killed, 11 suffered ‘very serious’ injuries and 22 were seriously injured in the crash, the East of England Ambulance Service said. All patients with the most serious injuries have all now been taken to hospital.
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A further 56 people sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene or in hospital. Most carriages of the two southbound trains remained on the tracks but at least one derailed.
The two trains involved were operating the 4.40pm departure from Corby and the 3.50pm departure from Nottingham, both to London St Pancras. Dr Knapp, 40, said he had not felt the train slow down before the crash but other passengers told him they had.
Speaking to the Press Association, 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.
“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.”
Dr 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.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the crash as ‘hugely concerning’ and said he is ‘grateful to the emergency services for their swift response to this tragic incident’. Air ambulance helicopters were on the ground after the collision happened just south of the Elstow interchange between the A421 and the A6.
There was a long line of emergency vehicles on a rural road as emergency crews and passengers gathered in a neighbouring field. Members of the public were asked to avoid the scene of the crash, while Bedford Hospital and Luton and Dunstable University Hospital both asked people not to attend their emergency departments ‘unless they have a genuine medical emergency’ as they responded to the incident.
EMR trains to and from the London were suspended for the rest of the day. Online train trackers show the rolling stock involved in the crash were a class 360 and class 810, with the front of the former hitting the rear of the latter.
EMR began rolling out class 810s in December last year, while class 360s are at least 20 years old. A spokesperson for Network Rail, which manages Britain’s rail infrastructure, said: “We are supporting the efforts of emergency services on scene and our thoughts are with everyone involved.”
Meanwhile, Eddie Dempsey, the general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), confirmed the person killed in the train crash near Bedford was the driver of one of the trains. He said: “We are devastated to learn that a train driver and former RMT rep has tragically died as a result of today’s crash between Luton and Bedford.
“The thoughts of RMT are with their family, friends, colleagues and the Aslef trade union at this awful time.”
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