First picture of train driver, 60, killed in Bedford crash involving Nottingham service

The train driver killed in Friday's collision near Bedford has been named as 60-year-old Shaun Burton. Mr Burton was at the controls of an East Midlands Railway service travelling from Corby to London when it struck the rear of another train heading from Nottingham to the capital[1]. In a statement, his family said they were "devastated by his loss" and extended their sympathies to all those affected by the crash.

"We are devastated by his loss. Our thoughts are also with those affected by this incident," the family said in a statement released by the British Transport Police[2], along with a photograph of Mr Burton while asking for privacy as they begin to come to terms with their grief.

Dave Calfe, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers' union, said: "We are all heartbroken by the death of Shaun Burton which leaves a hole in the lives of his family, friends, and colleagues, which will never be filled. Shaun, a driver at East Midlands Railway, joined the railway relatively late in life.

"He loved public transport - he used to work on buses and coaches - before he became a train driver seven years ago. He was dedicated to the job, and devoted to his colleagues and enormously popular at his depot. "The railway family grieves his passing; no-one should go off to work in the morning and not come home.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends tonight." Passengers on board the Nottingham service described the collision as "bewildering and frightening". Speaking with the BBC, Alistair Adamson, who was travelling on the Nottingham to London St Pancras train, said he anticipated an explosion following the initial impact.

"All of a sudden, a really big impact," he said. "I immediately felt myself lurching forward and saw my colleagues across from me getting thrown around."

The incident injured 100 people, 11 of which were seriously wounded, while 57 suffered minor injuries, the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAS) confirmed.

Buckingham Palace said King Charles was "greatly saddened" by the rail crash and that his "thoughts and sympathies are with the family of the deceased and with all those injured of affected by such a tragic incident".

References

1. ^ train heading from Nottingham to the capital (www.nottinghampost.com)
2. ^ released by the British Transport Police (www.nottinghampost.com)