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发帖数: 11530 | 1 Ladbroke Grove rail crash
Date and time 5 October 1999 08:08
Location Ladbroke Grove
Rail line Great Western Main Line
Cause Signal passed at danger
Trains 2
Deaths 31
Injuries 523
The Ladbroke Grove Rail Crash (also known as the Paddington train crash) was
a rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 at Ladbroke Grove, London,
England. Thirty-one people were killed and more than 520 injured.
Contents
* 1 Incident
o 1.1 Cause
* 2 Aftermath
* 3 The crash site
* 4 Dramatisation
* 5 References
* 6 External links
[edit] Incident
At 08:08:58 BST a three-car Class 165 diesel multiple unit train (no 165 115
), operated by Thames Trains collided with a First Great Western High Speed
Train (which consisted of eight Mark 3 passenger carriages with a Class 43
power car at each end) (43011 - 43018) 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 (210 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. Thirty-one
people, including the drivers of both trains involved, were killed, and 227
people were admitted to hospital. A further 296 people were treated at the
site of the crash for minor injuries.
[edit] Cause
The immediate cause of the disaster was identified as the Thames train
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. 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 13 days earlier, there was no documentary
evidence of him being taught anything about the complexities of the route,
and his Drivers' Rules examination paper bore neither his signature nor had
any 'pass/fail' ticks on it to indicate that any subjects had even been
discussed. (Vaughn 2003) Under the previous British Railways training regime
, trainees would have spent far longer in training and once qualified, were
not allowed to drive over the notoriously difficult approach to Paddington
until they had at least 2 years experience on less complex routes.
Also identified was 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 should have been set as a default to divert an
overrunning train to a parallel line instead of into a head-on collision. (
Hall 2003) (Part of the problem was that the interlocking was incorrectly
set-up; it should have been impossible to set the route until the express
had cleared the section, thereby leaving the down stopping-train on its
original track, and not running across the front of the up express.)
[edit] Aftermath
Lord Cullen led a public inquiry into the crash, the recommendations of
which led to the creation in 2003 of the Rail Safety and Standards Board and
in 2005 of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.
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.[1]
On 31 October 2006, Network Rail pleaded guilty to charges under the Health
and Safety at Work Act 1974 in relation to the accident. They received a
fine of £4 million on 30 March 2007, and were ordered to pay £225,
000 in costs.[2]
Signal SN109 was brought back into service in February 2006.[3] It and many
other signals in the Paddington area are now single-lens type signals.
[edit] The crash 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
catenary obstructed the view of various signals. Signal SN109 had a
particularly restricted view as there was a road bridge over the railway
line one 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.
This was the second major accident on the Great Western Main Line in just
over two years, the first being the Southall rail crash of September 1997, a
few miles west, and this severely damaged public confidence in the safety
of Britain's privatised railway system.
A memorial garden, partially overlooking the site, is accessible from the
adjacent Sainsburys supermarket car park.
[edit] Dramatisation
On 20 September 2005, Derailed, a 90-minute documentary-drama programme
based on the Ladbroke Grove crash, 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 stated that the chronology of actual events had
been changed, and some scenes fabricated, to "add clarity".
[edit] References
1. ^ "Thames Trains fined £2m for Paddington crash". The Guardian.
2004-04-05. http://www.guardian.co.uk/traincrash/Story/0,,1186298,00.html.
2. ^ "Paddington crash prompts £4m fine". BBC News Online. 2007-03-
30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6510077.stm.
3. ^ "Paddington signal back in service". BBC News Online. 2006-02-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4705696.stm.
* Hall, Stanley (2003). Beyond Hidden Dangers: Railway Safety into the
21st Century. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-2915-6.
* Vaughn, Adrian (2003). Tracks to Disaster (revised ed.). Ian Allan.
ISBN 0-7110-2985-7.
* 1999: Death toll rising in Paddington crash BBC NEWS |
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