Inquest Opens Into Death of Train Driver Shaun Burton in Bedfordshire Crash

An inquest into the death of train driver Shaun Burton opened on 14 July at The Court House in Ampthill, Bedfordshire. Senior Coroner for Bedfordshire and Luton Emma Whitting presided over the five-minute hearing and adjourned it pending reports from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch and British Transport Police.

Burton, 60, died when his East Midlands Railway train collided with the rear of a stationary train at Elstow, near Bedford, on 19 June.

The crash injured 162 people, of whom 102 required hospital treatment. Burton was pronounced dead at the scene at 18:49 BST. An interim RAIB report stated that Burton's train passed a red signal moments before the collision.

The stationary train, which had originated in Nottingham at 15:50 BST, stopped unexpectedly due to a fault with its Automatic Warning System equipment. Burton's train had departed Corby at 16:40 BST heading for London St Pancras. Data examined by investigators showed Burton's train brakes were applied for about nine seconds before impact while travelling at about 76 mph.

Speed had reduced to 49 mph at the moment of collision. A consultant pathologist identified the cause of death as traumatic injuries to the brain stem and chest. Burton lived in Cambridgeshire and had served as a parish and district councillor representing The Stukeleys ward on Huntingdonshire District Council.

He was formally identified by the Fingerprint Identification Bureau on 25 June. The inquest has been adjourned until a later date which has not been fixed yet.