Statement regarding initial findings of the RAIB report about the tragic incident at Elstow, Bedford

Statement from Will Rogers, Managing Director at EMR: “Following the publication of investigation update from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), we are fully committed to working as an industry to support the continuing investigation.

"We are deeply sorry that this has happened on our railway. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences remain with those affected, particularly EMR driver Shaun Burton, who tragically lost his life.

"While any incident like this is extremely serious, Britain’s railway remains one of the safest in the world, with fatal accidents extremely rare relative to the 1.7 billion journeys made each year. Independent comparisons continue to rank the network among the safest in Europe.

"Given the complexity of the issues being examined, it is important that the independent investigation is allowed to reach its conclusions. As the investigation remains ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment on specific findings or speculate on the circumstances surrounding the accident before all of the evidence has been examined.

"We will continue to cooperate fully with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and await the findings of the final report before commenting further.

"Our focus remains on supporting those affected by the incident, while continuing to work with the relevant authorities and carefully considering any recommendations identified through the investigation process.

"We will do everything we can to ensure this never happens again.”

The report can be found here: Collision between two passenger trains near Elstow - GOV.UK