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A TRAIN driver was killed and 89 people were injured after two East Midlands Railway services travelling towards London St Pancras collided near Bedford on Friday evening, prompting police to declare a major incident and launch a full-scale investigation into the cause of the crash.
Emergency services confirmed that 11 people sustained very serious injuries, 22 suffered serious injuries and a further 56 were treated for minor injuries following the collision, which occurred at about 5.15pm BST south of Elstow, close to the A421 and A6 junction.
The British Transport Police confirmed that the sole fatality was the driver of one of the trains.
"Tragically, one person was pronounced dead at the scene. He is the driver of one of the trains involved and his family have been informed," BBC cited the force saying in a statement.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union identified the victim as a former union representative.
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said the organisation was "devastated to learn that a train driver and former RMT rep has tragically died" in the collision.
The accident involved the 3.50pm Nottingham to London St Pancras service and the 4.40pm Corby to London St Pancras service, both operated by East Midlands Railway. Authorities have yet to determine what caused the two southbound trains to collide.
Passengers described scenes of devastation inside the carriages, with several comparing the impact to an explosion.
Dr Peter Knapp, who was travelling in the front carriage of one of the trains, said he witnessed widespread destruction immediately after the collision.
"When I got up, I saw all of the chairs everywhere. It felt like I'd been in a bomb explosion.
"When I got up, I saw people's bloodied faces and people's legs looked broken and there was smoke everywhere," he said.
Speaking after being evacuated, Knapp said police were recording passengers' details while emergency crews transported the injured to hospital.
"Some people are spitting out blood," he said.
Another passenger, Shola Mene, recalled hearing a violent impact before passengers were thrown around the carriage.
"People flew from their seats, the seats were pulling, and then someone just flew across and hit my husband in the face.
"There was a lot of blood. A lot of people had facial injuries," she said.
She added that confusion gripped passengers immediately after the collision as they struggled to understand what had happened.
Passenger Teresa Itabor, who boarded the train at Wellingborough en route to London to celebrate her birthday, said the collision occurred shortly after departing Bedford station.
"We left Bedford station and there was a massive bang... I didn't know what was going on. My head hit the seat in front of me.
"I opened my eyes and that's when I saw people on the floor with blood everywhere," she said.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expressed her condolences to those affected while urging restraint over speculation as investigators began their work.
"My thoughts are with all of those affected," she said, "especially the people who've been injured, their friends and their family".
Asked about the cause of the fatal collision, Alexander said it was "too early to speculate".
"We will make sure that there's a thorough investigation done to establish how this collision happened and to ensure that lessons are learned so that we don't have an incident like this ever again," she said.
"The UK railways are some of the safest in the world. It's very unusual for this to happen on the network."
The emergency response included multiple ambulance crews and an air ambulance, while aerial images from the scene showed extensive damage to both trains, with at least one carriage forced off the tracks.
East Midlands Railway suspended all services to and from London St Pancras for the remainder of Friday, warning that disruption would continue throughout Saturday.
The operator advised passengers to use alternative routes until the end of service on Saturday, adding that tickets would be accepted without additional charge on replacement services and alternative rail operators.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers also expressed concern over the incident.
"We are deeply concerned by reports of a train collision between Bedford and Luton and the serious injuries sustained by on-board train staff and passengers.
"The thoughts of the whole union are with those affected and we continue to monitor the situation." - June 20, 2026
