Ladbroke Grove rail crash
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| Details | |
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| Date and time: | 5 October 1999 08:08 |
| Location: | Ladbroke Grove |
| Rail line: | Great Western Main Line |
| Cause: | Signal passed at danger |
| Statistics | |
| Trains: | 2 |
| Passengers: | |
| Deaths: | 31 |
| Injuries: | 523 |
| List of UK rail accidents by year | |
The Ladbroke Grove rail crash (also known as the Paddington train crash) was an English rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 in which thirty-one people died.
The disaster occurred at 08:08 and 58 seconds BST, when a three-car Class 165 diesel multiple unit train operated by Thames Trains collided with a High Speed Train (8 coaches with a diesel power car at each end) of First Great Western at Ladbroke Grove Junction, about two miles / 4 km west of the terminus at London Paddington station. The trains collided almost head-on at the junction with a combined closing speed of approximately 130 mph / 205 km/h.
The first car of the Thames Train, the 0806 from Paddington to Bedwyn, Wiltshire, driven by Michael Hodder, was totally destroyed on impact, and the diesel fuel carried by this train at the start of its daily journey ignited, causing a series of separate fires in the wreckage, particularly in coach H at the front of the HST, which was completely burnt out. 31 people were killed as a result of the incident, including the drivers of both trains, 227 people were hospitalised and 296 people were treated at the site of the crash for minor injuries.
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[edit] Cause
The immediate cause of the disaster was identified as Driver Hodder passing signal SN109 when it was showing a red aspect (technically known as a Signal Passed At Danger or SPAD), 563 metres before the impact point. However, the public inquiry conducted over the next year by Lord Cullen identified many contributory factors, blaming Thames Trains' driver training procedures (Driver Hodder had only qualified two months earlier), and Railtrack's Great Western Zone (who were responsible for the maintenance of the track and signalling) who had not taken appropriate action in view of the fact that there had been eight SPADs at signal SN109 in the preceding six years (although all those trains stopped before reaching the junction), or taken sufficient action in response to complaints from train drivers about the visibility of various signals, particularly SN109.
The Health and Safety Executive's HM Railway Inspectorate was also criticised for its inspection procedures, and the Railtrack signalling centre staff at Slough were criticised for not sending a radio "emergency all stop" signal immediately when it was realised that the Thames Train had passed a signal at danger. They were expecting the train to stop shortly after the signal as had happened with the earlier SPADs at that signal, and it is not known if the radio signal eventually sent was received before the impact 33 seconds later. Finally, the system did not provide flank protection; points ahead could have been set as a default to divert an overrunning train to a parallel line instead of into a head-on collision. (Hall 2003)
[edit] The disaster site
The disaster occurred at the point where the main line from London to South Wales and the West of England switches from two lines in each direction, carrying fast and slow trains, to multiple lines signalled to allow trains to travel in either direction, in and out of the platforms of Paddington Station. The track layout had been modified in this way by British Rail in the early 1990s, but the line had subsequently been electrified to allow the new Heathrow Express service to operate from 1994, and the new overhead power lines obstructed the view of various signals. Signal SN109 had a particularly restricted view as there was a road bridge over the railway line a few hundred metres before the gantry on which SN109, together with four other signals, was mounted. The design of signal SN109 was non-standard, in that it was shaped like a reversed "L", with the red lamp on the horizontal arm rather than below the other lenses as is standard, and it is thought that this, together with the bright sun rising in the east behind the train and shining directly into the signal lenses may have misled the inexperienced Driver Hodder into thinking that the signal was showing a proceed aspect. The On-Train Data Recorder showed that he had reacted correctly to earlier caution signals.
This was the second major accident on the Great Western Main Line in just over two years, the other being the Southall rail crash of September 1997, just a few miles further west, and this severely damaged public confidence in the safety of Britain's privatised railway system.
On 5 April 2004, Thames Trains was fined a record £2,000,000 for violations of health and safety law in connection with this accident. On 31 October 2006, Network Rail pleaded guilty to charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in relation to the accident.
Signal SN109 was brought back into service in February 2006. [1]
[edit] List of fatalities
The following people lost their lives in the Ladbroke Grove disaster:
- Charlotte Andersen, 32, from Stillwater, OK, USA, resident in London, international products manager.
- Derek Antonowitz, 25, from South Africa, resident in Willesden Green, London, computer consultant.
- Anthony Beeton, 47, Civil Servant in the Northern Ireland Office.
- Ola Bratlie, 26, from Gavdik, Norway, telecommunications engineer.
- Roger Brown, 44, from east London, software engineer.
- Jennifer Carmichael, 22, from Newbury, Berkshire, bar worker.
- Brian Cooper, 52, from Hayes, west London, (Driver of the HST)
- Robert Cotton, 41, of Dursley, Gloucestershire, school caretaker and trade union official.
- Sam Di Lieto, 24, from Bloomsbury, central London.
- Shaun Donoghue, 45, of New Cross, south east London, statistician.
- Neil Dowse, 39, from Forest Hill, London, sheet-metal worker.
- Cyril Elliott, 41, from Beckenham, south east London, management consultant.
- Fiona Grey, 33, from Dumbarton, IT consultant.
- Juliet Groves, 27, from Shepherd's Bush, west London, accountant.
- Sun Yoon Hah, 25, of London, barrister.
- Michael Hodder, 31, from Reading, Berkshire, (Driver of the Thames Train)
- Elaine Kellow, 24, of Paddington, IT worker.
- Martin King, company director.
- Antonio Lacovara, 24, from Hither Green, London, graphic designer.
- Rasak Ladipo, 33, from Muswell Hill, London, computer expert.
- Matthew Macaulay, 26, from New Zealand living in Clapham, S. London, information technician.
- Delroy Manning, 39, from Lewisham, plasterer.
- John Northcott, 24, from Leyton, east London, IT worker.
- John Raisin, 61, from Painswick, Gloucestershire, recruitment consultant.
- David Roberts, 35, of Swindon, Wiltshire.
- Allan Stewart, 28, from Auckland, New Zealand, resident in Fulham, accountant.
- Khawar Tauheed, 44, from Romford, east London, microbiologist.
- Muthulingam Thayaparan, 26, of Tooting, south London.
- Andrew Thompson, 52, from Colchester, Essex.
- Bryan Tompson, 61, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, freelance engineer.
- Simon Wood, 40, from Liss, Hampshire, charity project worker.
[edit] Dramatisation
On 20 September 2005, Derailed, a 90-minute documentary-drama programme based on the events at Ladbroke Grove, was aired on BBC1. This dramatisation was heavily criticised in the railway press, with the editor of Rail magazine (Nigel Harris) describing it as a "trashy piece of subjective story-telling" (issue 523). The programme itself clearly stated that the chronology of actual events had been changed, and some scenes fabricated, to "add clarity".
[edit] External links
- Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry Part 1 Report (3 MB pdf file) - Description of the accident and investigation
- Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry Part 2 Report (1.3 MB pdf file) - Recommendations
- Health and Safety Executive Report (4.2 MB pdf file)
- Paddington Survivors Group - Website of the Paddington Survivors Group, which campaigned for better rail safety and supports survivors.
- Stop at Signal 109 - a website which lambasted Great Western Trains
[edit] References
Hall, Stanley (2003). Beyond Hidden Dangers: Railway Safety into the 21st Century. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-2915-6..
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Barnes | Bexley | Cannon Street | Clapham Junction | Dagenham East | Ealing | Eltham Well Hall | Forest Gate | Harrow and Wealdstone | Hither Green | Holborn | Ladbroke Grove | Lewisham | Moorgate | Purley | Southall | South Croydon | Spa Road |
