Ladbroke Grove rail disaster remembered 25 years on

Memorial events are being held to mark the 25th anniversary of one of the worst rail disasters in UK history.

Thirty-one people were killed and more than 400 were injured when a rush-hour train collided with a high-speed train at Ladbroke Grove on 5 October, 1999.

An inquiry into the disaster revealed that the Thames service travelling from Paddington to Bedwyn in Wiltshire had gone through a red signal.

It crashed into the London-bound high-speed First Great Western train two miles from Paddington station shortly before 8.10am.

A wreath-laying ceremony took place in a memorial garden near the crash site at 8am, followed by a service of remembrance at 11am at St Helen’s Church, North Kensington.

The events were led by the Rt Rev Dr Emma Ineson, Bishop of Kensington, who said: "We gather here today to remember the Ladbroke Grove train disaster that happened very near here on the 5th of October 1999, 25 years ago."We gather to remember the 31 people who lost their lives, those who were injured, those who came to their aid on that morning and the many, many who still live with the memories of that day."We come together as one people, of different faiths and of none, and we come to remember, to seek comfort and healing from God and from each other."She continued: "In a few moments ... we will mark a moment's silence, a minute's silence, to reflect and to remember the 31 people whose names are written on this memorial."Thirty-one names - each one a person, each one known, each one precious, and each one loved."The bishop read each name etched onto the memorial before those gathered held a minute's silence.People were then invited to lay flowers and wreaths, with bereaved families asked first, followed by a wreath laid on behalf of the survivors, and then by representatives of the emergency services and railway industry.The final wreath was laid by a representative from the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission.

Attendees included relatives of the victims, survivors and representatives from the emergency services, local authority and trade unions.

Mark Phillips, chief executive of rail industry body the Rail Safety and Standards Board, said: “The rail industry experienced one of its darkest days at Ladbroke Grove 25 years ago.

“The legacy from this tragedy is that lessons learned, collaboration, hard work and modern technology have made Britain’s railway one of the safest in the world.

“We remain vigilant and continually strive for further improvements. By working together, we can reduce the risk of a catastrophic train accident happening again.

“Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of those who died, those injured, and those who survived and live with the memory.”

The general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, Mick Whelan, who is attending the memorial events, said: “As an industry we will never forget those who lost their lives, those who were injured, and all those families who were impacted and who suffered because of the Ladbroke Grove rail crash.

“And we should never forget the lessons that we learned in what is, and what will always be, a safety-critical industry.”

Dangerous incidents of trains passing red signals have decreased since the introduction of safety improvements such as the train protection and warning system.

Office of Rail and Road figures show there were 287 signals passed at dangers – when a train passes a stop signal without permission – on Britain’s railway in the year to the end of March.

That is compared with 593 in 1999/2000.

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