What now following the Bedford train crash?

Early Friday evening we heard the shocking news that there had been a collision between two East Midlands Railway trains just south of Elstow in Bedfordshire. Eye witnesses to the BBC described it as “a bomb explosion”. 

It has sadly been confirmed that the driver of one of the trains died, and that 100 people have been injured, 11 seriously. 

The victims and their families will be asking how this could possibly have happened. As a society we generally consider rail travel to be safe, so it is concerning that an accident such as this could occur. 

Because there has been a fatally, there will now be an Inquest to consider how the accident occurred, and whether lessons can be learned. Meanwhile the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) will undertake their own Inquiry. 

The two trains were dependent on safeguard measures implemented in the late 1990s. There is a newer system called the European Train Control System (ECTS) which is being deployed on some major routes around the country. The ECTS continuously monitors the trains for speed and braking compliance,  and automatically applies breaking if needed. It is imperative that the Coroner and RAIB  consider if a wider roll-out of this system is necessary, and if so, ask the government to set out a timeframe for doing so. 

Unfortunately, the nature of such enquiries is that they are often protracted (the RAIB have only recently released their report following the Talerddig Powys collision in October 2024), in the meantime it is vital that representatives for East Midlands Railway provide support to injured victims and their families, many of whom will now face a lengthy recovery period from their serious injuries. 

Contact Ben Davey at Dean Wilson LLP

Ben Davey is a Partner and is practice lead for serious injury. He can be contacted on bd@deanwilson.co.uk