“As we begin to reopen the railway following last week’s tragic incident, we do so with profound sadness for Shaun Burton”
Recovery and repair work on a major railway line has been completed after a fatal crash involving two trains in Bedfordshire. Network Rail said the “complex” operation on the Midland Main Line (MML) in Elstow, near Bedford, came to an end a week after the accident.
One train driver died and 162 other people were injured when two East Midlands Railway (EMR) services collided on June 19. Shaun Burton, 60, died when the East Midlands Railway (EMR) train he was driving hit the back of a stationary train run by the same operator.
The recovery work involved dismantling overhead line equipment, constructing a temporary access road across a field, and using two 110-tonne cranes to remove the trains from the railway.
Engineers subsequently carried out repairs to the track, signalling and overhead line equipment to enable services to restart. The MML has been closed between Luton and Bedford since the crash, disrupting EMR and Thameslink services.
Passengers were urged to allow at least an hour of additional time to complete some journeys. Planned engineering work between London St Pancras and Bedford will go ahead this weekend, with all lines between these stations closed.
That means services between Luton and Bedford will not resume until Monday.
East Midlands Railway (EMR) Service Update: EMR will be operating a full timetable on their Intercity route from Monday 29 June. Some journeys may still be subject to short-notice changes or cancellations as they restart services following an extended period of closure. Customers are advised to check their journey before travelling to the station.
Greater Thameslink Railway (GTR) Service Update: Thameslink services will resume on Monday 29 June and there will be extra staff on hand at key stations along the route to help and support customers with their journeys.
Passenger services on the Midland Main Line will resume on Monday 29 June. Services will not run this weekend (Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June) due to planned engineering works, which were already scheduled before the incident. Rail replacement buses will continue to operate over the weekend between:
- Bedford and Luton
- Luton and West Hampstead Thameslink
- Hitchin and Luton Airport Parkway via Luton
- Harpenden and Potters Bars via St Albans.
Mark Budden, East Midlands route director for Network Rail, said: “This has been a complex and challenging recovery operation, and I’d like to thank our engineers and colleagues across the railway for the professionalism, skill and dedication they’ve shown in safely completing the work as quickly as possible to get passengers moving again. With repairs now complete, we will be able to reopen the Midland Main Line on Monday.”
EMR acknowledged the disruption of the past week “has had a significant impact on our customers”, while Thameslink’s parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) said the recovery work was “the result of a truly remarkable effort”.
On Thursday, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander spoke to rail staff and first responders to the train crash to thank them for their “heroic” actions and pay tribute to their “courage and continued professionalism”.
This included staff and volunteers from the Salvation Army, GTR, the British Transport Police, EMR, East of England Ambulance Service, Network Rail and the Red Cross.
An interim report published by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch on Wednesday found Shaun Burton – the 60-year-old train driver killed in the 49mph crash – passed a red signal moments before the collision.
The train he was driving smashed into the back of a stationary train.
Will Rogers, Managing Director of East Midlands Railway, said: “As we begin to reopen the railway following last week’s tragic incident, we do so with profound sadness for Shaun Burton, his loved ones, and all those affected. They remain firmly in our thoughts.
“I would like to thank staff at EMR, our colleagues at Network Rail and across the wider industry for their exceptional dedication in very challenging circumstances.
“We recognise the disruption of the past week has had a significant impact on our customers and are grateful for the patience, understanding and compassion they have shown to our staff.”
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