Families bereaved by the Ladbroke Grove rail disaster have laid flowers at the memorial to honour those killed 25 years ago – each remembered as “precious and loved”.
Thirty-one people died and more than 220 were injured when a rush-hour train collided almost head-on with a high-speed train around two miles from Paddington station, west London, shortly after 8am on October 5 1999.
It was one of the most catastrophic rail incidents in recent UK history, and Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said her “thoughts are with the loved ones of the 31 victims, and all those affected by the disaster” 25 years on.
A wreath-laying ceremony took place in a memorial garden near the crash site at 8am on Saturday, where the grey memorial stone was surrounded by bouquets of fresh flowers and lit candles, with a plush toy laid down as well.
The event was 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.
Dr Ineson read a final prayer, which asked God to “help us to be worthy” of those commemorated at the event “whose lives will always be dear to us”, before attendees were encouraged to find a breakfast spot in west London ahead of a service of remembrance at 11am at St Helen’s Church, North Kensington.
In a post on X, Ms Haigh said: “On the 25th anniversary of the #LadbrokeGrove rail accident, my thoughts are with the loved ones of the 31 victims, and all those affected by the disaster.
“Today we reflect on the lessons learned since the tragedy to improve safety and remember the heroism of everyone involved.”
An inquiry into the disaster revealed that the Thames service travelling from Paddington to Bedwyn in Wiltshire had gone through a red signal before crashing into the London-bound high-speed First Great Western train.
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.”
Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, 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.
“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, compared with
593 in 1999/2000.