Train driver dies and 89 people injured after two trains collide near Bedford

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/19/two-trains-collide-bedford

32 points · 5 comments · view on lemmy.world

5 Comments

MrPoletki@feddit.uk · 5 pts · 71d (5 replies)

So it begs the question how two trains ended up on the same piece of track headed toward each other. I expect the passengers and the drivers family would like to know too.

horn_e4_beaver@discuss.tchncs.de · 6 pts · 71d

Heading towards eachother? One of them was stationary.

pirc_lover@feddit.uk · 6 pts · 71d

They didn’t head towards each other. One train was stopped and the other went into the back of it. There must have been a signal passed at danger — would assume some kind of brake failure or bizarre driver error.

RAIB will give us more info when the report comes out

pirc_lover@feddit.uk · 1 pts · 71d
[ removed ]
paks@feddit.uk · 1 pts · 67d (1 reply)

Here's the initial statement from the RAIB https://www.gov.uk/government/news/collision-between-two-passenger-trains-near-elstow - pirc_lover had it about right

One train developed a fault which caused it to stop. The second one, as seen on its dashcam, drove through a red signal (which it should have stopped at) and into the back of the first. They are still investigating why the second one didn't stop at the signal and whether that might include brake failure, safety system failure, driver error, and/or any other factors.

MrPoletki@feddit.uk · 1 pts · 53d

well it sounds like the driver applied the brakes as soon as he saw the stopped train in front of him, from about 250m away that'd have been. Something aint right here, my money is not on the driver being at fault tho