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

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

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...

Read More

Ladbroke Grove rail disaster - plaques

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

Read More

Other Subjects

William Jerry

William Jerry

Role on the lost expedition: Able seaman on SS Terror. See John Franklin.

Person, Exploring, Tragedy

1 memorial
Daniel Arthur

Daniel Arthur

Role on the lost expedition: Petty officer on SS Erebus. See John Franklin.

Person, Exploring, Tragedy

1 memorial
Workers killed at work (builders)

Workers killed at work (builders)

The thousands of building workers who have lost their lives at work. Researching one of these terrible events reminded us that we have found other memorials to people who died in 'accidents' at wo...

Group, Property, Tragedy

13 memorials
Saint John Houghton

Saint John Houghton

One of the 18 Carthusian Martyrs. Prior of The London Charterhouse - a Carthusian monastery. Refused to accept Henry VIII as the head of the church of England. Martyred at Tyburn.

Person, Religion, Tragedy

2 memorials