East Midland Railway Collision

Navendu Mishra Excerpts

Monday 22nd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[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.

[Navendu Mishra (Stockport) (Lab)]

The thoughts and prayers of the people of Stockport are with Shaun Burton’s family and friends. East Midlands Railway serves Stockport and connects us to Sheffield, Nottingham and beyond, so I thank all EMR staff and the railway workers who support those services. Can the Secretary of State reassure the House that British Transport police, the rail accident investigation branch, and EMR will have the support of her Department and the wider Government with the investigation?

[Heidi Alexander]

I can assure my hon. Friend of that. This weekend, I spoke to Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi of the BTP, and to the managing director of EMR. This morning, I was briefed by the safety director of Network Rail. We will ensure that the investigation that RAIB and BTP do independently is appropriately resourced. I will look carefully at any recommendations that are forthcoming on how we can improve safety on the railways.