Bedford crash train sped up past red-light warning, investigation finds

Rail investigators have found the driver of the Corby service acknowledged a red-signal warning but accelerated before the fatal Bedford collision in June.

• The Rail Accident Investigation Branch said the train accelerated to 76mph after the warning, slowing to 49mph before hitting the train ahead.
• Driver Shaun Burton, 60, died and more than 160 people were injured in the crash near Bedford on 19 June.
• Investigators said the signal had not shown red during 2026, and no train had passed it on red since records began in 1985.
• The train ahead had stopped on a false warning; another train received an incorrect warning at the same signal weeks later.