Train driver killed, 99 injured in Bedford railway collision
A rear-end collision near Bedford killed a train driver, injured 99 people and left 28 in hospital, including nine in critical condition.
A train driver was killed and 99 people were injured when two East Midlands Railway passenger trains collided near Bedford, turning an evening service into a mass casualty scene. By Saturday morning, 28 people were still in hospital and nine were in a critical condition, police said.
The crash happened at about 5.15pm on Friday, June 19, 2026, south of the Elstow interchange between the A421 and the A6. British Transport Police said a train from Corby smashed into the back of a Nottingham service on the same track heading to London St Pancras, and at least one carriage was derailed. Police said the driver’s family had been informed.
The East of England Ambulance Service said the collision triggered 11 very serious injuries, 22 serious injuries and 56 minor injuries. British Transport Police said 80 injured people were treated in hospital. Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi said: “As of this morning, 28 remain in hospital, and nine are in a critical condition.” The force said investigators were on the scene, alongside the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, as they worked to establish what happened.
The emergency response was large and fast-moving. Around 70 firefighters, 20 ambulances, specialist hazardous area rescue teams, police and medical helicopters were dispatched to the site as crews worked through the wreckage. Bedford Hospital and Luton and Dunstable University Hospital urged people not to attend their emergency departments unless they had a genuine medical emergency, an instruction that reflected the pressure the crash placed on local health services.
East Midlands Railway said it was deeply saddened that its driver had died and said it was fully supporting the investigation. King Charles said he was greatly saddened and sent his thoughts and sympathies to the driver’s family and the injured. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said a thorough investigation would be launched and lessons learned.
The cause has not been confirmed, and officials have said it is too early to speculate. The remaining questions are central: how the Corby train came to strike the rear of the Nottingham service on the same track, what safeguards were in place, and why those protections did not prevent a collision that left one driver dead and dozens of passengers in hospital.
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