Investigators will be anxious to ascertain the cause of the Bedford train accident given its very unusual nature. The toll of 89 injuries and the death of the train driver means this is by far the worst accident on Britain’s train tracks in more than two decades.
The two trains involved, both part of the East Midlands fleet, and one, the fast train from Nottingham to London was stationary at the time, until it was hit by the stopping service from Corby. Reports from the passengers suggest there was no screeching of brakes or rapid deceleration before the crash, suggesting that the driver, who was sadly killed, had no idea that the line was not clear.
In particular, the investigation team will be concerned to determine why the safety features introduced after the Ladbroke Grove disaster in 1999 seem to have failed in this instance. After that accident, a system known as Train Protection and Warning System was installed to prevent accidents caused by signals passed at danger: SPADs, as they are known in the industry. The Ladbroke Grove disaster, in which 31 people were killed and 417 injured, was caused by a train leaving Paddington and going past a red signal into the path of an express coming from Cheltenham.
