At least 30 people were hurt, one seriously, when a passenger train hit empty carriages Friday at London's Waterloo railway station, According to report of China Daily on March 11.

Two people were hospitalized overnight including one who underwent heart surgery, hospital officials said.

As an investigation was launched, rescue services said the crash could have been much worse if it had not been for the fact one train was empty and stationary and the other slowing down.

John Pooley, the incident officer for the ambulance service, said: "It was a serious accident, but there have not been as many casualties as there might have been.

The collision happened at 1:50 p.m. (1350 GMT) when a passenger train ran at low speed into the back of stationary carriages on platform five.

Early last October, two commuter trains collided near Paddington station, west London, leaving 31 dead.

That crash sparked a furious debate over railway safety, especially after the privatization of British Rail under the last Conservative government.

The accident is still under investigation.