King Charles praised British Transport Police (BTP) for their “remarkable efforts” keeping rail and underground networks safe after meeting officers who dealt with the Bedfordshire train crash. The King opened the force’s new headquarters in central London and spoke with a range of officers, including firearms officers, dog handlers, drone specialists, and those tackling violence against women and girls.
King Unveils Plaque and Praises BTP
As he unveiled a plaque to mark his visit, Charles told gathered staff, including BTP’s Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi: “I’m very very pleased to be able to do this and, if I may say so, congratulate the whole of the British Transport Police…for remarkable efforts all the time all over this country. And I know from travelling for all these years what a difference they make.”
Meeting with First Responders
The head of state spoke to Pc Dave Sheldrick, the first BTP officer on the scene after two East Midlands Railway services collided on June 19 in Elstow, near Bedford. He also met other BTP staff involved in the incident, including family liaison officers. An interim report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch found that Shaun Burton, the 60-year-old train driver killed in the 49mph crash, passed a red signal moments before the collision. The crash injured 162 people, 102 of whom needed hospital treatment.
BTP’s Role and History
BTP is a national special police force responsible for policing the railway network, covering over 10,000 miles of track and more than 3,000 stations and depots across England, Wales, and Scotland. It also polices London Underground, the Docklands Light Railway, and other city metro and tram systems. Ms D’Orsi said to the King: “We know of your interest in our work and the challenges facing modern policing. We are particularly grateful for your understanding of the efforts we make every day to tackle violence against women and girls, keep passengers and railway staff safe, and keep the railway moving. The relationship between your family, the railway and British Transport Police stretches back more than 180 years, to Queen Victoria’s first rail journey in 1842. On alighting, she remarked that she was ‘quite charmed at the privacy and lack of dust’- perhaps one of the earliest endorsements of rail travel.”
