The driver killed in the train crash near Bedford has been named as Shaun Burton.
The 60-year-old died when the East Midlands Railway (EMR) train he was driving crashed into the back of another on the same line shortly after 5pm on Friday.
In a tribute issued by the British Transport Police (BTP), his family said: “We are devastated by his loss.
“Our thoughts are also with those affected by this incident.”
BTP said the family have asked “for their privacy to be respected as they begin to come to terms with this devastating loss”.
“Our thoughts continue to be with them and his colleagues at East Midlands Railway,” a BTP spokesperson said.
Some 100 other people were injured in the crash, when the front of the 4.40pm Friday departure from Corby to London St Pancras hit the rear of the 3.50pm departure from Nottingham, to the same destination.
Earlier on Sunday, Network Rail said it believed the crash was a “tragic, isolated incident” and that a “complex recovery operation” to remove the damaged trains and carriages from the railway had begun.
Engineers will then need to assess the damage and complete repairs, meaning services will be disrupted throughout the week.
