Event    From 5/10/1999  To 5/10/1999

Ladbroke Grove rail disaster / Paddington rail crash

Categories: Tragedy, Transport

Also referred to as the Paddington rail crash. At 8.06am, a Thames train bound for Bedwyn in Wiltshire left Paddington station. Two minutes later, as it sped along at 41mph, it went through a signal with the driver failing to see that it was on red. At the same time, a First Great Western train from Cheltenham was heading towards Paddington at nearly100mph. Spotting the imminent crash, the control centre in Slough switched a signal to red, but the high speed train passed through it. Both drivers applied their brakes too late, At 8.10am, the trains collided at a combined speed of 135 mph; the Thames train was sliced in half and both engines burst into flames. 29 passengers and the two drivers were killed, and more than 500 were injured.

The Cullen Report of 2001 blamed Railtrack for the signalling failures, and the company was eventually fined £2 million, which was paid out of taxpayers' money.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Ladbroke Grove rail disaster / Paddington rail crash

Commemorated ati

Ladbroke Grove rail disaster - monument

{On the front face of the memorial:} Dedicated to the memory of the 31 people...

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Ladbroke Grove rail disaster - plaques

The plaques are located on a wall overlooking the site of the disaster. Unfor...

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Other Subjects

Fiona Grey

Fiona Grey

An IT Consultant from Alexandria, Dumbarton, killed in the Ladbroke Grove rail disaster, aged 33. Andrew Behan has kindly carried out further research: Fiona Janet T. Grey was born on 14 August 19...

Person, Tragedy, Scotland

1 memorial
Joshua Ives Iliffe

Joshua Ives Iliffe

Non-British, killed by the Bali bomb.

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial
William Beckham

William Beckham

William Beckham is the boy lying on his side on the left at the front in the photograph of the scout troop.  He was one of the ten children of William John Beckham (1870-1917) and Harriett Beckham...

Person, Children, Community / Clubs, Tragedy

2 memorials
Kosuke Suzuki

Kosuke Suzuki

Non-British, killed by the Bali bomb.

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial
Sereina Liesch

Sereina Liesch

Non-British, killed by the Bali bomb.

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial