A major incident has been declared at the scene
One person has died and a number of others were injured when two passenger trains collided near Bedford, police said.
Footage from the aftermath shows the incident involved two East Midlands Railway (EMR) services, with one smashing into the back of the other on the same line shortly after 5pm on Friday.
One passenger reported being “flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke”.
British Transport Police (BTP) said in a statement that “a number of people have been injured and one person has very sadly died”.
Most carriages of the two southbound trains remained on the tracks but at least one derailed.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said passengers and crew had sustained “serious injuries”.
The two trains involved were operating the 4.40pm departure from Corby and the 3.50pm departure from Nottingham, both to London St Pancras.
Passenger Pete Knapp described people “crying, screaming” and said some seemed to have major injuries.
The 40-year-old told the Press Association: “There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke. People were crying, screaming, people were so scared and confused.
“I got up and I saw a lot of people who were unable to speak, had broken legs, and then I managed to get out of the train and because I’m quite thin I was able to squeeze out through the gap in the doors.”
Dr Knapp said he saw people with “life-threatening, major injuries, minor injuries” as well as “people with bandages, people who couldn’t see straight”, while others like him were still able to walk.
He said: “I’ve got blood all over my trousers and my back hurts like hell but I’m alright.”
He said he had not felt the train slow down before the crash but other passengers told him they had.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the crash as “hugely concerning” and said he is “grateful to the emergency services for their swift response to this tragic incident”.
