Eight in critical condition after train crash

Eight in critical condition after train crash1 hour agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleTom SymondsandShivani ChaudhariBav MediaA temporary road has been built to allow cranes to get near to the crash siteMore than 100 people have received treatment in hospital after Friday's train crash near Bedford with 53 of those remaining there on Monday, including eight in a critical condition, British Transport Police said. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has praised emergency services who acted "quickly, professionally and bravely" following Friday's fatal train crash near Bedford.She told the House of Commons that people needed "to hold off on speculation" and let official investigators try to work out why the two London-bound trains hit each other.She paid tribute to the train driver Shaun Burton, 60, who died in the crash – the only fatality.A BTP spokesperson said the hospital numbers were "changing frequently and are likely to continue changing as the week moves forward".BBC ParliamentHeidi Alexander said RAIB investigators "and they alone" would identify the cause of the crash "which I will consider with the utmost care and due diligence"Two East Midlands Railway trains – the Corby to London St Pancras and the Nottingham to St Pancras – collided at about 17:15 BST on Friday.Mark Budden, East Midlands route director for Network Rail, said it had been a "distressing incident" and one priority was to "recover the railway". Work was under way to clear the crash scene at Elstow and to ensure no further damage was done to the track and signalling.Engineers have built a temporary road and installed a crane which has been lifting carriages from the Corby to London Luton Airport Express train from the tracks.Rail industry sources told the BBC that improvements in train design meant the carriages involved remained largely intact, reducing the severity of injuries.Alex KnightWitnesses described...