See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy REBECCA ENGLISH, ROYAL EDITOR Published: 19:43 BST, 8 July 2026 | Updated: 19:49 BST, 8 July 2026
The King met with eight officers who dealt with the aftermath of the Bedford train crash today.Among them was the first officer on the scene, PC Dave Sheldrick, as well as family liaison officers and those responsible for 'repatriating' property left behind by passengers.The incident on June 19 left 162 people hurt, including nine critically injured. The train driver Shaun Burton, 60, died after two East Midlands Railway trains collided.Thanking the officers, Charles heard that no-one was still in a critical condition but that some survivors have life-changing injuries.The King also questioned how AI will change forensics, as he officially opened the new headquarters of the British Transport Police.The King spent half-an-hour in the underground car park of the headquarters in London Victoria, meeting police officers, dogs, and seeing drones in action.He asked specialist forensics officers how the advent of AI would change their work, and paused to look at a television screen showing footage of the engagement itself shot from a drone overhead.Unveiling a plaque to open the new building, he laughed as Chief Constable Lucy D'Orsi gave a speech detailing the Royal family's long relationship with the railways. King Charles met with eight officers who dealt with the aftermath of the Bedford train crash Speaking to the specialist officers and first responders, the King heard that no-one was still in a critical condition but that some survivors have life-changing injuries King Charles shook hands with the officers and thanked them for their efforts in the aftermath of the Bedford train crash on June 19 The monarch met with Lucy D'Orsi, chief constable of British Transport Police (right) at the opening of the new headquarters The King spent half-an-hour in the underground car park of the headquarters in London Victoria, where he was shown drones in action The King unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the new BTP headquarters The monarch was seen leaving the new headquarters, which has been open since MarchQueen Victoria, she said, recorded her first train journey in 1842 as leaving her 'quite charmed at the privacy and lack of dust'.The King, giving a short impromptu speech in return, said he was grateful for the hard work of the British Transport Police, adding: 'I know, having travelled for all these years, just what a difference they make.'Speaking to Byron Chamberlain, a scene of crime supervisor in the Scientific Support Unit, the King asked how AI might affect crime scene investigation.He was told that it would have little impact on collecting and recovering evidence, which is done by specialist human officers, but that it may speed up paperwork.The King also met firearms officers, dog handlers, and police dogs Axel and Tara. He talked to officers working to tackle violence and intimidation against women and girls on the transport network.Unusually, part of the engagement had been filmed by a hovering drone, with footage played on a television screen which he walked past and watched briefly.British Transport Police (BTP) is the specialist police force for Britain's railways, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, the Midland Metro tram system, Croydon Tramlink, Tyne and Wear Metro, Glasgow Subway and IFS cloud cable car, policing the network across England, Scotland and Wales. BTP moved into their new force headquarters in March 2025.
