Train sped up past red signal before fatal crash

A train involved in a fatal crash had accelerated past a red signal that was rarely ever on, investigators have found.

Train driver Shaun Burton, 60, died and more than 160 people were injured when his London-bound service crashed into the back of another train on 19 June at Elstow, near Bedford.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch, external (RAIB) has found the signal had not displayed a red light to any train before the crash during 2026.

The latest interim report said CCTV had shown the signal had displayed red correctly, and Burton had acknowledged it, but he had continued to accelerate and applied brakes only seconds before hitting the other train, which had earlier come to a stop.

The collision took place between two East Midlands Railway (EMR) services on Network Rail's Midland Main Line, about 2.5 miles (4km) south of Bedford station.

The driver of the first train, travelling from Nottingham to London, was learning how to operate a new type of train under the supervision of an instructor.

It stopped after receiving an Automatic Warning System (AWS) alert, despite the signal ahead displaying green.

Neither the driver nor the instructor recognised the alarm as an AWS warning, and it was not acknowledged within the required window. This caused the train's emergency brakes to be applied automatically.

When Burton's train approached from Corby, the signal was displaying red, although he acknowledged its AWS warning, he continued to accelerate.

RAIB said no train had previously been recorded passing the signal while it was red since records began in 1985.

On 9 July, after the crash, another train approaching the same signal received an incorrect AWS warning despite it displaying green.

The AWS equipment was later found to be positioned 16mm below rail level, outside the permitted tolerance. Investigators are examining whether this contributed to the incorrect warnings.

However, investigators found no evidence that the signal itself was faulty when it was tested after the crash.

RAIB said it would continue to investigate why Burton's train had passed the red signal, as well as the signal's positioning, visibility and status.

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