Bedford crash train accelerated after driver acknowledged red signal warning
An East Midlands Railway train accelerated after its driver acknowledged an automatic warning triggered by passing a red signal, before colliding with a stationary train near Bedford in June. The crash killed the driver and injured 160 people, prompting investigators to examine how the signal and train safety systems operated.
The train reached 76mph before the driver applied the emergency brakes; it had slowed to 49mph at impact. The red signal had not previously shown red in 2026, and the investigators said the driver and instructor did not recognise the warning sound in the cab of the new Hitachi Aurora train. Another train of the same class later received an incorrect warning at that signal while it was green; investigators are continuing to examine both events and why the other train had stopped.
- Train accelerated after its driver acknowledged a warning at a red signal.
- The collision killed the driver and injured 160 people.
- Investigators are examining possible faults in warnings and safety systems.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “Bedford rail crash: train sped up after red light warning, say investigators”.