East Midland Railway Collision

Linsey Farnsworth Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

We are obviously keen to ensure that normal service patterns can be resumed as soon as possible, but there is extensive work still to be done at the site. We need to ensure that everything is in perfect working order before we resume services. I will keep my hon. Friend updated, as I will do other hon. Members, as soon as we have more information.

[Linsey Farnsworth (Amber Valley) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement and associate myself with her comments on the sad loss of the train driver Shaun Burton and her thanks to the emergency services, staff and volunteers who helped at the scene. Many of my constituents in Amber Valley travel on that line regularly. What reassurance can the Secretary of State give them that everything is being done to ensure their safety once that specific line is back open? Can she reassure those worried constituents who are contacting me that the line will not be reopened until it is absolutely safe to do so?

[Heidi Alexander]

I give my hon. Friend the reassurance that the line will not be reopened until it is absolutely safe to do so. There are detailed procedures to be gone through in order to ensure that the railway is safe to resume services. We need to remove the trains from the track, as I set out, and repair the damage that will have been done to overhead-line equipment and the tracks. I assure her that Network Rail, the train operating company, and my Department will ensure that everything is done so that the line is safe when it reopens.