Andrée Massiah
BBC News

A passenger who was on board the 15:50 train from Nottingham said the crash was "terrifying".

He tells me he thought there had been a bomb explosion and that he was going to die.

Aleister Adamson said it felt like there had been multiple impacts - he described it as a "bang and another bang". He assumed the Corby train "hit our rear most carriage creating a chain effect".

People were "thrown around", Adamson said, and he could hear passengers screaming and mobile phone crash detection alarms.

"I was on the second carriage from the front and so everyone on my carriage was OK, but some were bleeding," he added.

"I thought I was going to die, and I can’t begin to describe how awful that is or trying to process the event afterwards."

Simon Browning
Transport reporter

The primary aim of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) team is to gather evidence and work through the crash site.

The RAIB is a British government agency that independently investigates rail accidents in the United Kingdom in order to find a cause - not to lay blame, establish liability or carry out prosecutions.

In the initial aftermath of a crash, the RAIB inspectors will be on site to interview witnesses, examine the trains and tracks, gather all digital evidence such as CCTV if it exists on the trains - which in most newer fleets is now standard.

There should be on-train data recorders fitted to the trains involved. They are like ‘black boxes’ and would gather anything that had been happening.

After an incident, the data can be downloaded and analysed.

In previous accidents, RAIB staff and specialist equipment arrive at the site of the accident and work in conjunction with the British Transport Police, the Office of Rail and Road and the railway companies involved to secure the necessary evidence to support their independent safety investigations.

RAIB investigations are completely independent of the railway industry, and whilst RAIB do maintain close liaison with railway companies and if they discover matters that may affect the safety of the railway, RAIB make sure that information about them is circulated to the right people as soon as possible.

Pictures on Saturday morning from the scene of the crash between the two trains show a police presence remaining in the area.

Several people in high visibility vests have been spotted nearby, while Network Rail is continuing recovery work at the scene.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

A portion of Network Rail's East Midlands route remains closed while emergency services and specialist teams assess the damage to trains and infrastructure, the route's director has said.

Mark Budden says in a statement that the body is "deeply saddened" that one of its colleagues had died as a result of the collision on Friday, adding that its thoughts are with their family, friends and colleagues as well as with all those who have been affected.

He says Network Rail's teams are working closely with industry partners, response teams and the emergency services to ensure everyone receives the care and support they need as an "absolute priority".

"We know passengers will want to understand when services can resume. We will provide updates as soon as we have a clearer understanding of the recovery work required and when the railway can safely reopen," he adds.

Image source, PA Media

A spokesperson for King Charles III has said he is "greatly saddened" by the train crash between the 16:40 from Corby and the 15:50 from Nottingham.

A statement reads: "His Majesty is greatly saddened by the rail crash in Bedford yesterday evening and is being kept regularly updated on developments.

"His thoughts and sympathies are with the family of the deceased and with all those injured or affected by such a tragic incident."

Sam Read
Reporting from Bedforshire

I’m on a bank beside the rail line which is as close as I can get to the trains.

Shrubbery means I can only see the front part of one train and not the damage.

I can see half a dozen people in high visibility vests on or beside the track but it is a quiet scene.

It's been more than 17 hours since the Bedford train crash, and the driver who died in the fatal collision between two East Midlands Railway trains has been confirmed as the driver of the Corby service.

What we know so far:

• British Transport Police declared a major incident after the collision was reported at 17:15 on Friday
• The trains involved were the 16:40 from Corby to London St Pancras and the 15:50 from Nottingham to London St Pancras, East Midlands Railway says
• The train driver who died as a result of the crash was on the Corby train, the general secretary of the train drivers' union Aslef confirmed today
• In its statement yesterday, the ambulance service said 11 people were very seriously injured, 22 seriously injured, and 56 had minor injuries

What we don't know:

• Which train crashed into the other: A Class 360 train collided with a Class 810 train. From images we have seen of the crash site, eyewitnesses and timings listed on train-tracking sites, it appears that the train from Corby collided with the back of the Nottingham train. However, this has not been confirmed
• What caused the crash: This will be the subject of a full investigation. Specialist teams are continuing their work at the scene this morning
• The condition of injured passengers or the driver of the other train

Nicky Schiller
Reporting from Bedfordshire

I'm still at the police cordon with other journalists waiting to see if the authorities will allow us to get nearer to the scene.

Their priority of course is the work to establish the cause of the accident.

Every now and then another local stops to ask the officer why they can't use the road. He has been here for a few hours now.

Also in the last hour we've seen some rail maintenance vans drive down the road. Network Rail is continuing the recovery work at the scene.

• At 15:50 on Friday, an East Midlands Railway (EMR) train departs from Nottingham for London St Pancras
• Another EMR train heading for St Pancras then leaves Corby at 16:40
• The collision is first reported at around 17:15
• At 17:36, Thameslink reports that all lines are blocked between Luton and Bedford due to a "problem under investigation"

• At around 19:40, the RMT union says "serious injuries" have been reported by train staff and passengers
• British Transport Police says at 20:57 that a major incident has been declared and confirms that one person died in the collision
• The East of England Ambulance Service says at around 22:00 that a total of 89 people have been injured
• At 23:30, the individual who died in the crash is confirmed by the RMT union to have been a train driver
• On Saturday morning, the Aslef union says the driver who lost their life was on the Corby train

Image source, Reuters

Warning: This post contains distressing details

Passenger Brett Byatt says chairs broke and people were left "bleeding profusely" when the crash occurred less than five minutes after his train left Bedford station.

Earlier, he spoke to BBC Breakfast and described how he heard a "boom" followed by "shrieks and groans of pain" after the collision.

Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, Byatt says that, as people flew into one another during the crash, "the seats that they were on broke backwards into the people behind them".

Passengers in first class ended up with stomach and rib injuries because "they went into the tables they have in first class", he adds.

Only four people in his carriage were left uninjured, Byatt says, and everyone else either had wounds that were "bleeding profusely" or they could not stand or "couldn't move their neck".

He adds that emergency services arrived "extremely quickly" - he estimated it was less than ten minutes.

Nicky Schiller
Reporting from Bedfordshire

Specialist teams are at the scene of the crash as the investigation continues into what caused the collision.

Network Rail has told me that it will be a "complex task" as they assess the damage not only to the trains but also any infrastructure.

No doubt the inspectors from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch will be gathering all the electronic information from the data recorders on the trains.

We don't know when the recovery work will be complete and then the line will have to be checked to make sure it can be safely reopened. In the meantime expect delays on EMR services.

The driver who lost their life in Friday's collision was on the 16:40 Corby train to St Pancras, the general secretary of the train drivers' union Aslef says.

Dave Calfe tells Radio 4's Today programme that the entire railway family will be "feeling the sadness and sorrow" of the loss of the train driver's life, as well as those severely impacted by the incident.

He adds that the government's Rail Accident Investigation Branch will now look into what lessons can be learned from the collision.

Calfe says: "The most important thing for us is that we learn the outcomes from incidents like this and prevent them from happening in the future."

Alex Pope
Reporting from Bedfordshire

Simon Bentley and his wife were also on one of the trains involved in the collision.

"We were going from Kettering into London and felt the train brake really hard which seemed odd," he told the BBC.

There was an "almighty impact", he added, followed by one of the cabin doors smashing and objects "everywhere all flying around".

Simon said the work of the emergency services was "absolutely astounding".

"I think [we're] actually just really relieved that we're both still here. We're very lucky and obviously very, very sad about what's happened to the driver," he added.

Alex Pope
Reporting from Bedfordshire

Warning: This post contains distressing details

Paul Cavin was on one of the trains bound for St Pancras involved in Friday's crash.

He has told the BBC: "We had stopped and suddenly we were hit from behind pretty bad. There were people injured on my carriage."

Paul has said the driver's cab of the train behind was "pretty badly mashed up" and he could see a lot of wounded people walking from the trains, some with "smashed up noses".

While the incident was "obviously a shock", he is fine, Paul added.

Train services on Saturday will continue to be disrupted, with all lines between Bedford and St Pancras closed.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) has said there may be short notice alterations to its engineering timetable due to the incident on Friday, with trains that usually start and terminate at St Pancras doing so at Bedford instead.

Thameslink services between Bedford and Finsbury Park, as well as St Pancras, London Bridge and Sutton, are also affected by pre-planned engineering work. Rail replacement buses are in place.

Those who were due to travel on Friday but chose not to due to the disruption can claim refunds. EMR said tickets dated 19 June will also be valid to use today on alternative routes with other operators at no extra cost.

The operator added that it is currently unable to retrieve luggage left onboard the trains evacuated from the crash until the British Transport Police have concluded their initial investigation.

East Midlands Railway (EMR)'s managing director Will Rogers says the company is "working closely" with National Rail and emergency services to support those injured in yesterday's crash.

Will Rogers offers EMR's condolences to the family of the driver killed, adding that "we will make every effort to ascertain the cause in cooperation with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch".

Sam Read
Reporting from Bedfordshire

I’m at one end of the police cordon as we are being kept away from the crash site this morning where officials from the Rail Accidents Investigation Branch will be continuing their work.

Beside the road is a large pile of bottled water - last night this closed road was used to triage dozens of passengers to work out who needed the most urgent care.

The main activity this morning is occasional Network Rail and rail contractor vans being allowed in and out by police.

Once the initial stage of the investigation has concluded, there will need to be further work to get this line reopened. Major disruption expected to services today.

Warning: This post contains distressing details

People onboard one of the trains "went flying into one another" when the crash occurred on Friday, a passenger has said.

Brett Byatt, who was heading to St Pancras from Bedford, tells BBC Breakfast he heard a "boom" followed by "shrieks and groans of pain" after the collision.

He adds: "There was a woman in front of me that had completely snapped her leg and there was a woman behind her. They were sort of on top of each other. She couldn't move because of her back."

The two passenger trains collided south of Bedford, just south of the Elstow road interchange for the A421 and the A6 - close to where Universal is planning to build a massive theme park.

The trains involved - the 15:50 service from Nottingham and the 16:40 service from Corby - were both heading to London St Pancras.

Nicky Schiller
Reporting from Bedfordshire

The roads around the crash site are still closed.

I am at one of the cordons and have seen the police officer explaining to locals they can't go down the road.

When it comes to train services in the area, East Midlands Railway is warning of major disruption throughout the day.

Worth saying that the line between Bedford and Luton was always going to be closed today for engineering work.