Wonder what happens with the Bedford - Bletchley service in these circumstances.

Services appear to be restored this morning (Saturday).

lift the trains and carriages

Sunday 21 June 2026
Media statement: Bedford train crash – essential travel only as passengers warned to expect disruption for the majority of next week

Rail passengers planning to travel through Bedford next week are being warned by the rail industry to expect disruption to train services until the end of next week (28 June) and to only travel on this route if their journey is essential.

Following an incident on Friday (19 June) involving a collision between two East Midlands Railway (EMR) trains in the Bedford area, in which an EMR driver sadly died and many passengers were injured, the railway is expected to remain closed between Bedford and Luton for the rest of the week.

As a result, there will be no GTR services north of Luton and no EMR services south of Bedford, with a limited rail replacement bus service in operation between Luton and Bedford.

Journey planning apps and websites are being updated to reflect these changes and may take a few hours to do so. Customers are advised to check live travel updates before they travel.

For as long as the Midland Mainline is closed at Bedford, train operators are accepting tickets for EMR customers. For customers whose journey is affected, tickets will be accepted on any alternative route. If customers decide to travel on EMR once the line is reopened, their connecting ticket on other operators also will be valid on that other day too.

East Midlands Railways (EMR)

No EMR services will run between Bedford and London St Pancras. Trains that usually start and terminate at London St Pancras will start and terminate at Bedford instead. From Monday, EMR will operate a reduced service on our Intercity and Connect routes, although Regional services will remain unaffected.

EMR Intercity and Connect services will operate one train per hour in each direction:

- One train per hour between Sheffield and Bedford, calling at Chesterfield, Derby, Long Eaton, East Midlands Parkway, Loughborough,
   Leicester, Market Harborough, Kettering and Bedford.                                                                                       
- One train per hour between Nottingham and Bedford, calling at Beeston, East Midlands Parkway, Loughborough, Leicester, Market
  Harborough, Kettering, Wellingborough and Bedford.
- One train per hour between Corby and Kettering.

Rail Replacement buses will be provided in each direction as follows:

- One direct bus per hour between Kettering and Luton (departing on the hour).
- One bus per hour between Kettering and Luton Airport Parkway, calling at Wellingborough, Bedford and Luton (departing on the hour).

EMR Luton Airport Express services will not run whilst the recovery operation continues. Passengers travelling between Luton Airport Parkway and London St Pancras in either direction may use their ticket at no extra cost on Thameslink services. For passengers travelling between Luton Airport Parkway and stations to or from the North, Rail Replacement Buses will operate between Luton Airport Parkway and Luton/Bedford/Kettering. Connections are available at Bedford and Kettering for services towards Sheffield or Nottingham.

For the latest EMR travel information please visit https://www.eastmidlandsrailway.co.uk/service-updates

Greater Thameslink Railway (GTR)

From Monday, north of London St Pancras, Thameslink will run a limited service as far as Luton only. Thameslink and Great Northern will have in place ticket acceptance for EMR customers.

People should travel only if absolutely necessary. There will be no trains between Bedford and Luton, and only limited rail replacement buses. Elsewhere, north of London St Pancras on Thameslink, there will be:

- Four trains an hour to and from Luton during peak hours.
- Two trains an hour to and from Luton outside of peak hours.
- Eight trains an hour from London to St Albans during peak hours.
- Six trains an hour from London to St Albans outside of peak hours.

The following limited rail replacement buses will run from Monday:

- Bedford to Luton Airport Parkway and back, calling at Luton only (shuttle every 30 mins).
- Bedford to Luton and back, calling at Flitwick, Harlington and Leagrave (shuttle every 15 mins in the peak and every 30 mins in the off-
  peak).
- GTR will also have extra staff on hand at key stations along the route to help and support customers with their journeys.

For more information on Thameslink services, please visit https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/service-updates/service-updates

Recovery operation

A complex recovery operation has begun to remove the damaged trains and carriages from the railway before engineers assess any damage and complete necessary repairs. The Overhead Line Equipment – the electrical wires that provide power to the electric trains – must be removed while a temporary access road and concrete foundation is constructed to support the operation of a crane.

Two 110 tonne rail-mounted Kirow Cranes will then lift the trains and carriages from the site before a road-mounted crane moves them onto a low loader – a heavy-duty, specialised trailer designed to carry extremely heavy equipment – to be transported away by road. Following this, engineers will then assess the track and make any repairs before reinstating the overhead lines and completing final safety checks ahead of reopening the railway.

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, said: "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."

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail Eastern regional managing director, said: "The past two days have been incredibly tough for everyone involved in this incident and our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the friends, family and colleagues of the train driver who tragically lost their life as well as the passengers who have been impacted by this incident.

"Colleagues from across the rail industry are working together at pace to remove the trains and carriages from the railway and complete the repairs to the tracks. This is a complex and challenging task and our teams will be working tirelessly to reopen the railway so we can resume services between Bedford and London.

"While investigations are still at an early stage, current indications are that this was a tragic, isolated incident.  We are focused on the safe reopening of the railway and getting services running as quickly as possible.

"During this time, our message to passengers is clear – please expect disruption to services through this area for the majority of next week and only travel if absolutely necessary."

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail Eastern regional managing director, added: "This is a complex and challenging task, and our teams will be working tirelessly to reopen the railway so we can resume services between Bedford and London.

"While investigations are still at an early stage, current indications are that this was a tragic, isolated incident."

As an administrator on this Coffee Shop forum, may I thank all of our members here for your restrained, non-speculative, posts about this sad incident.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch will indeed discover all of the facts, and provide us with a definitive report, in due course.

CfN.  -X

The aspect displayed by 358 upon the departure of the 360 will be interesting to discover.

Some context on the events at Elstow/Bedford this evening.  There is a lot you can tell from train describer data on @OpenTrainTimes, however there is a lot of information that you cannot determine.  The purple trace is the Class 360's movements, the green is the 810's.

BBC quoting that an (interim, I'm sure) update will come from the RAIB in coming days.   Makes sense especially if there are safety issues to be addressed that are generally significant.  RAIB seem much quicker at the interim reporting than they used to be.

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), who is working with the British Transport Police (BTP) to establish the facts and determine what happened before the crash, says a further update will be provided "in the coming days".

In a statement on X, the branch says: "RAIB inspectors continue to gather evidence at the site of yesterday's collision between two trains near Elstow.

"RAIB will conduct a full, independent safety investigation into this tragic accident.

"We will provide a further update in the coming days once we know more."

At risk of speculation, although that image, and others I have seen, do show the separation and slewing of one vehicle of the 810. We have to be thankful there wasn't a passing train on the adjacent line. It appears that the slewed carriage is the third of the five car Class 810. That suggests a fair bit of energy has travelled through three carriages.

The energy involved to create the damage shown does suggest this wasn't a slow impact. Eye witness accounts back that up.

That's enough (informed) speculation from me for now. The RAIB are on scene and they will diligently piece together all the events, gather all the evidence and interview all parties involved. In the fullness of time they will publish their report. It will, as always, be an interesting read.

EDIT: Having just read the latest sad update, my thoughts are with the family and friends of the person who has sadly died. 

Driver dead and 33 people seriously injured as Bedford train crash declared major incident

A train driver has died and 89 people have been injured after two trains collided in the Bedford area as police declare a major incident.

Eleven people suffered very serious injuries, 22 were seriously injured and a further 56 have minor injuries, the East of England Ambulance service said.

The crash involved two southbound East Midlands Railway (EMR) services, both travelling to London St Pancras on Friday afternoon. The cause of the incident is still under investigation.

RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said the union was "devastated to learn that a train driver and former RMT rep has tragically died" in the crash.

In a statement, the British Transport Police (BTP) said they had declared a major incident following the collision, which took place at around 17:15BST.

"We know that a number of people have been injured and one person has very sadly died", the statement said.

Passenger Dr Peter Knapp told the BBC he was travelling in the "front carriage of the train that collided into another one".

"When I got up, I saw all of the chairs everywhere. It felt like I'd been in a bomb explosion.

"When I got up, I saw people's bloodied faces and people's legs looked broken and there was smoke everywhere", he said.

Speaking from the side of the road, Knapp said the police were taking passengers details while some were taken taken to hospital. "Some people are spitting out blood", he said.

(BBC article continues)

One dead and 11 very seriously injured in Bedford train crash as police declare major incident

Summary
One person has died after two trains collided in Bedford, according to British Transport Police

The ambulance service says 89 people have been injured, with 11 of them suffering "very serious injuries"

A major incident has been declared, with firefighters, police and ambulance crews at the scene

The trains involved were the 16:40 from Corby to London St Pancras and the 15:50 from Nottingham to London St Pancras

Passenger Peter Knapp tells BBC News he was in the front carriage of one of the trains: "I felt like I'd been in a bomb explosion"

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has offered his condolences to the person who has died, calling the incident "hugely concerning"

East Midlands Railway says all its services to and from London St Pancras have been suspended; Thameslink says all lines are blocked between Luton and Bedford

Two passenger trains have collided in the Bedford area, leaving a number of passengers and crew hurt.

Emergency crews are on the scene after the crash happened between two East Midlands Railway (EMR) services at 17.12 BST.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was "deeply concerned" by reports of the collision, while the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said passengers and staff had sustained "serious injuries".

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue crews are attending the site just south of Bedford and the service asked people to avoid the location while they worked at the scene.

British Transport Police announced just before 18:45 BST it was responding to reports of a collision near Bedford.

Rail service Thameslink reported lines between Luton and Bedford had been blocked since around 17:30 BST.



A passenger who was on board one of the trains, who spoke to the BBC, said the collision happened at 17:12 BST.

The collision happened just south of the Elstow interchange between the A421 and the A6 and both trains are still on the track.

Family and friends of passengers have been told not to go the scene by police.

What happened in the collision?

It has been claimed one of the trains hit another that was either stationary or moving slowly in front of it on the same line.

Passenger Peter Knapp said others on his train saw one ahead of them before the crash.

He told BBC News: "I felt like I'd been in a bomb explosion."

Knapp described seeing "bloodied faces", people with what appeared to be broken legs, and "smoke everywhere".

Another passenger told the BBC that people flew out of their seats in the crash, including someone who hit her husband in the face.

"There was a lot of blood. A lot of people had facial injuries," Shola Mene said.

The RMT union said it had received reports that passengers and onboard train staff have sustained what it described as "serious injuries".

The Rail Accident Investigation branch said it was in Bedford trying to find out exactly what had happened.

It said in a statement on X: "A team of RAIB inspectors is on site at the scene of a collision between two trains near Elstow, to start gathering evidence."

Which train services were involved?

East Midlands Railway has confirmed two of its trains were involved in the collision.

A spokesperson said: "The 16:40 EMR train from Corby to London St Pancras has been involved in a collision with 15:50 Nottingham [to] London St Pancras, at Bedford South.

"We are currently on the scene and working with Network Rail to assist the emergency services.

"Further updates will be provided as soon as more information is established."

The train company had earlier posted online that services to and from London St Pancras were suspended for the rest of the day.

What have the emergency services said?

British Transport Police says it is responding to a collision between two trains in the Bedford area.

"We understand that people are concerned about relatives or friends who may have been travelling on the trains involved in the incident near Bedford," a spokesperson added.

"We're asking people not to travel to the scene and await further updates from emergency services."

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews are currently in attendance at an incident on the railway just south of Bedford.

"Please avoid the area. Thank you for your co-operation."

East of England Ambulance Service said: "We have sent a number of resources, including air ambulance and our Hazardous Area Response Team, to a major incident on the railway south of #Bedford. We encourage people to avoid the area.

"Further updates will be provided in due course. Please only call 999 in an emergency."

What has been the reaction from politicians?

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was worried by reports of the collision.

She said on X: "I'm deeply concerned to hear reports of the collision involving two East Midlands Railway passenger trains.

"I'm grateful to emergency services who are on the scene, attending to those affected.

"We're working quickly with the rail industry and local partners to support passengers."

Bedford and Kempston MP Mohammad Yasin said the "very serious" incident was "really concerning" and told the BBC he believed there was "a number of casualties".

Health Secretary James Murray said: "I am being kept updated on the collision of two trains between Luton and Bedford.

"A number of people have been injured and I thank first responders who are helping those affected."