Railway line between Luton and Bedford to be shut for several days as aftermath of train crash assessed

The railway line between Luton and Bedford will be shut for several days as an investigation is carried into a fatal train crash on Friday (19/06).

East Midlands Railway, Thameslink and Network Rail have confirmed that the line will be closed altogether between Luton and Bedford stations for the next few days as work is carried out to investigate the circumstances that lead to the collision, remove the two trains involved and repair damaged infrastructure.

Two East Midlands Railway trains were involved in the collision at around 5:15pm on Friday, when a train travelling from Corby to London collided with one travelling from Nottingham to London. The incident happened just outside Bedford near the Elstow interchange of the A6 and A421 roads shortly after both trains had passed through Bedford station.

It has been confirmed that the driver of one of the two trains involved has died while around 100 people were injured. Nine of them remain in a critical condition as per an update from the emergency services yesterday (21/06).

Pre-planned engineering works had already shut the line south of Bedford station this weekend, but confirmation has now come through that the line will be suspended altogether between Luton and Bedford stations until further notice.

Network Rail have not confirmed when the line will fully re-open, with expectations of disruption continuing until at least next Friday (28/06) and likely lasting for the whole of next week. They have also advised passengers to only travel on this route if their journey is essential.

East Midlands Railway has confirmed they will run limited services from Bedford to Sheffield and Bedford to Nottingham, along with a shuttle train service connecting Kettering with Corby. Bus replacement services will also be provided from Kettering to Luton, with one running directly from Kettering to Luton and one serving Wellingborough, Bedford and Luton before running on to Luton Airport Parkway. The operator will be running no trains at all south of Bedford.

Thameslink will be running no trains north of Luton station, with services running from Luton to London and destinations beyond. They will also be operating rail replacement buses, with one direct from Bedford to Luton Airport Parkway and one from Bedford to Luton that will be serving Flitwick, Harlington and Leagrave stations.

Both operators have also confirmed that ticket acceptance will be available with other operators, as well as also advising for passengers to check before travelling and to allow up to 60 minutes of additional travel time.

An operation will take place involving rail-mounted cranes to remove the two trains from the tracks and carry them away by road, before engineers will then make any fixes required to track and overhead line infrastructure.

In a statement, Will Rogers, Managing Director for East Midlands Railway, said, “First and foremost, our thoughts and heartfelt condolences remain with the family, friends and colleagues of our driver who tragically lost their life. We are also thinking of those who were injured, their loved ones, and all colleagues and customers affected by this incident. I would also like to thank our teams on the ground and the emergency services again for all their efforts.

“We are working closely with Network Rail and Thameslink to support those involved and assist with the ongoing recovery. Whilst this complex operation is underway, we ask that customers only travel on EMR’s Intercity and Connect services if essential. Please check before you travel.

“As the recovery progresses, we will continue to provide updates and encourage customers to check our dedicated webpage for details. EMR will not be able to operate any rail services between Bedford and London St Pancras this week. Our Regional routes remain unaffected. We appreciate our customers’ patience as we work with our industry partners to restore services.”

Louis Rambaud, Chief Customer Officer for GTR, which operates Thameslink, added, “It has been an incredibly difficult time for the whole railway family, and our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this tragic incident, particularly the family, friends and colleagues of the person who has tragically died, and all those who have been injured.

“We recognise the impact this tragic incident will have on our customers’ journeys in the days ahead, and we’re working closely with East Midlands Railway and Network Rail to reopen the line as soon as it’s safe to do so. We’re asking anyone planning to travel on the Midland Main Line on Monday to only make essential journeys while this work continues.

“For customers who do need to make journeys, we’re boosting the number of our colleagues at stations to help them, and customers should check before they travel and allow extra time. We’re grateful for our customers’ patience as we and our industry partners do everything we can to get services back to normal.”