Midlands train passed 'red' signal before crash that killed driver and injured 100 passengers
Data from the Corby train is still being analysed to figure out what happened in the moments before the crash.
An investigation into a devastating train crash that killed a driver and injured 100 passengers has revealed that the train had passed a ‘red signal’ moments before.
The East Midlands Railway train crashed into the back of another stationary train shortly after 5pm on Friday (June 19) in Elstow, near Bedford - killing 60-year-old driver Shaun Burton and hospitalised more than 100 people. Eight individuals remain in critical condition.
Both trains had been heading to London St Pancras - by the 3.50pm train from Nottingham came to an unexpected stop.
An initial Rail Accident Investigation Branch report states that the stop was due to a fault with the automatic warning system (AWS) equipment fitted to the train.
The 4.40pm train from Corby, driven by Mr Burton, then crashed into the back of the Nottingham train at 5.15pm. The report states that the train had passed a red signal moments before the collision and brakes were applied nine seconds before impact.
The train's speed was 76mph nine seconds before the brakes were activated but it crashed at a speed of 49mph.
It added that “it is not yet possible to say what indication the driver received” from the AWS equipment or how he responded to it. Data from the Corby train is still being analysed as it wasn’t accessible until the train carriage had been recovered.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has thanked investigators for the report and vowed to “leave no stone unturned to understand what happened”.
She added: "The report makes clear there is still much to establish, and the full investigation will provide the answers and recommendations everyone affected deserves.
“Our railway is one of the safest in the world, and while incidents like this are incredibly rare, when they do occur we will leave no stone unturned to understand what happened.
“The RAIB will publish their full report in due course and I will consider those findings with the utmost care and take any action necessary."
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