Central England train crash leaves driver dead, nine in critical condition

London,UPDATED: Jun 20, 2026 18:44 IST

Nine people were in critical condition on Saturday after two passenger trains collided in central England on Friday evening, leaving the driver of one locomotive dead, police said. More than 80 people were treated in hospitals after the crash, and 28 were still in hospital a day later.

Police and accident investigators are trying to find out why a commuter train bound for London’s St Pancras Station crashed into the back of another train heading to the same destination. Buckingham Palace said King Charles III was "greatly saddened" by the crash and that "his thoughts and sympathies are with the family of the deceased and with all those injured or affected by such a tragic incident."

British Transport Police Chief Constable Lucy D'Orsi gave the casualty update on Saturday. Photos and videos shared on social media showed dozens of people, some with bandages and many appearing unhurt, standing and sitting near emergency vehicles on a road alongside the tracks.

Passenger Peter Knapp said he was thrown forward by the impact and then saw fellow passengers with broken bones and bleeding injuries. "People were crying, screaming. People were so scared and confused," he said. "I got up, and I saw a lot of people who were unable to speak, had broken legs."

Another passenger, Brett Byatt, told the BBC that only "three to four of us were uninjured in a full carriage". "Everyone else had either a serious wound that was bleeding profusely, or a situation where they couldn't stand, or couldn't move their neck, or I saw a woman's snapped leg," he said.

Britain’s railways have had one of the world’s best safety records in recent years. In October 2024, one passenger was killed in a collision between two trains in Wales, Britain’s first fatal crash involving multiple trains in more than a quarter of a century. Saturday’s update underlined the severity of the central England collision, which left one driver dead, nine people critical and investigators working to establish what caused it.

With PTI Inputs

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