“Often in the hours and days after events such as these, small acts of compassion and selflessness start to emerge.”

That was the message from the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, who has praised the response from the emergency services, workers and members of the local community after two East Midlands Railway trains collided at Elstow near Bedford on Friday.

One of those drivers, Shaun Burton, tragically died when the 16.40 service from Corby to London St Pancras struck the stationary 15:50 service from Nottingham to St Pancras.

At least 33 people were taken to hospital with a third of those in a serious condition. At least 56 other people were treated for injuries, and a number of the injured remain in a critical condition.

Within minutes of the collision, emergency services were on the scene. A joint response then followed, including fire and rescue services, the ambulance service, National Police Air Service, British Transport Police, Bedfordshire Police, and railway staff.

They evacuated passengers safely, provided medical assistance, secured the railway and began recovery operations. By 23.00, all passengers were clear of the scene.

The Transport Secretary added: “All responders, to a person, acted quickly, professionally, and bravely in the most challenging of circumstances.

“Indeed, Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi of the British Transport Police told me over the weekend that the teamwork between emergency services, railway staff and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch was the best she’d ever seen.

“Let me take this opportunity to thank every single one of them. I would also like to thank the NHS staff who are still providing care to the injured as we speak.”

The support went beyond the emergency services, with the Transport Secretary praising members of the local community, who lived near the stranded trains, providing bottles of water to stranded passengers, the Salvation Army’s food truck that’s been on the scene since the incident or station staff along the route, who supported passengers amid the disruption.

She added: “I was particularly moved to hear of the ticket inspector on the Corby train, despite being injured himself, radioed in to close the rail line whilst also checking everyone else was ok.

“As I’ve said before, I truly believe the best of us show up in the worst of times – and that is again the case here.”

The Transport Secretary added that she is determined to get the answers to what happened and that lessons are learned, but has asked for patience while the investigations continue.

“The Rail Accident Investigation Branch – whose inspectors were on the scene within hours – have already launched an independent investigation and they have confirmed there will be an update in the coming days,” she said.

“They, and they alone, will identify the cause and will make recommendations which I will consider with the utmost care and due diligence.

“Meanwhile, I urge everyone to await their findings and to hold off on speculation.”

Now that investigators have gathered evidence from the scene, Network Rail will recover the trains and restore the infrastructure.

“This will be a complex operation involving lifting and removing damaged trains, repairing the rails and removing and replacing overhead lines,” said the Transport Secretary.

“That is why the railway is expected to remain closed between Bedford and Luton for the rest of the week. There will, however, be services running between Luton and London St Pancras.

“Rail replacement services were already in place along the Midland Main line, due to planned engineering works over the weekend. Those works were cancelled, but the replacement services continue to offer passengers alternative routes to travel.

“I’ve also instructed train operators to accept tickets from customers using alternative routes. However, my message to passengers who would normally use this route is that if your travel is not essential, please make alternative arrangements.”