{"id":651301,"date":"2026-06-21T23:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T23:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/651301\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T23:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T23:41:11","slug":"driver-killed-in-bedford-train-crash-named-as-family-pay-tribute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/651301\/","title":{"rendered":"Driver killed in Bedford train crash named as family pay tribute"},"content":{"rendered":"

The family of the train driver killed in the collision between two trains near Bedford on Friday <\/a>have paid tribute to him.<\/p>\n

Shaun Burton, 60, died when two East Midlands Railway trains collided on the same track.<\/p>\n

His family said: “We are devastated by his loss. Our thoughts are also with those affected by this incident.”<\/p>\n

BTP said the family have asked \u201cfor their privacy to be respected as they begin to come to terms with this devastating loss\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur thoughts continue to be with them and his colleagues at East Midlands Railway,\u201d a BTP spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Twenty eight people remain in hospital and nine are in a critical condition following the crash, British Transport Police have said.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, Network Rail described the crash as a “tragic, isolated incident” and that a \u201ccomplex recovery operation\u201d to remove the damaged trains and carriages from the railway had begun.<\/p>\n

Investigators will be on the scene for the coming days. Credit: PA<\/p>\n

EMR managing director Will Rogers also paid tribute to the mainline driver, who he said joined the company in 2019, describing him as a \u201cdedicated railway professional whose commitment, service, and professionalism touched the lives of colleagues and passengers alike\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: “His passing is a devastating loss to his partner, family, friends, and the wider railway community.<\/p>\n

“Shaun was known for his quick-wit, kind, generous, and intelligent nature, and for always having a smile on his face. <\/p>\n

“He was a well respected colleague both in his role as a driver, and in his previous role as a train manager, often acting as a trusted advisor and available to share his wisdom, support and guidance to others. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”<\/p>\n

Pictures the company released on Sunday showed a temporary road being built on to the field next to the train track, which will be used by a crane that will move the carriages on to a trailer to be driven away.<\/p>\n

A new road being built to the scene of the crash, to assist with recovery and investigations. Credit: Network Rail handout\/PA<\/p>\n

Engineers will then need to assess the damage and complete repairs, meaning services through Bedford will be disrupted throughout the week.<\/p>\n

There will be no services north of Luton towards Bedford on the busy commuter Thameslink line and no EMR services south of Bedford, with a limited rail replacement bus service running between Luton and Bedford, Network Rail said.<\/p>\n

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is investigating the incident and said it would provide a further update once more is known about the crash.<\/p>\n

More than 80 people were treated in hospital on Friday night and as of Saturday morning 28 remained in hospital, with nine in a critical condition, BTP previously said.<\/p>\n

EMR has created a phone line for customers and families directly involved in the crash, including for the recovery of personal possessions. The number – 0333 212 59 34 – is open from 7am to 8pm weekdays, 8am to 8pm on Saturdays and 10am to 8pm on Sundays.<\/p>\n

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The family of the train driver killed in the collision between two trains near Bedford on Friday have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":651302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-651301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=651301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/651302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}