Minister praises emergency services after train crash

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has praised emergency services who acted "quickly, professionally and bravely" following Friday's fatal train crash near Bedford.

She told the House of Commons that people needed "to hold off on speculation" and let official investigators try to work out why two London-bound trains hit each other just south of Bedford.

British Transport Police has said more than 100 people had received treatment in hospital, with 53 of those remaining there on Monday, including eight in a critical condition. Alexander said: "We are thinking of all of them and their families."

Two East Midlands Railway trains – the Corby to London St Pancras and the Nottingham to St Pancras – collided at about 17:15 BST on Friday.

Mark Budden, East Midlands route director for Network Rail, said it had been a "distressing incident" and one priority was to "recover the railway". Work was under way to clear the crash scene at Elstow and to ensure no further damage was done to the track and signalling.

Engineers have built a temporary road and installed a crane which has been lifting carriages from the Corby to London Luton Airport Express train from the tracks.

Rail industry sources told the BBC that improvements in train design meant the carriages involved remained largely intact, reducing the severity of injuries.

An interim report from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is expected this week.

The transport secretary said: "While I completely understand the strength of feeling out there, while I hear the clamour for answers, for the need to understand the cause of this tragedy, I must ask everyone for some patience, as hard as I know that will be.

"I am determined we get all the answers we're looking for, and that lessons are learned.

"The RAIB, whose inspectors were on the scene within hours, have already launched an independent investigation, and they have confirmed there will be an update in the coming days.

"They, and they alone, will identify the cause and will make recommendations, which I will consider with the utmost care and due diligence.

"Meanwhile, I urge everyone to await their findings and to hold off on speculation."

Investigators are are likely to be focusing on a range of potential factors including the signalling system, which should prevent trains being on the same stretch of track at the same time, a system in the train cab which warns if signals are missed, the brakes on the trains, and the actions of the drivers.

The railway is likely to remain closed for the rest of the week, with one train an hour from Bedford to each of Sheffield, Nottingham and Corby.

Rail replacement buses have been put in place between Bedford and Luton.

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