A disaster doesn’t just happen in one moment. Or on one day. They are the result of years of missed warnings. Missed or ignored. James Nesbitt: Disasters that Changed Britain I: Paddington Rail Crash, History 2018
The Paddington train crash – one of Britain’s deadliest rail accidents since the war. ibid.
On the morning of October 5th 1999 just outside London’s Paddington station two trains packed with commuters collided head-on. The ferocious impact and deadly fire left over 400 injured and 31 dead. ibid.
Southall crash: 130 people were injured and 7 were killed. ibid.
SN109: the signal was difficult to see in normal conditions; and today had the low autumn sun shining directly upon it. ibid.
SN109 had just had its ninth SPAD. ibid.
February 2023: ‘The town is under a state of emergency after fifty train cars derailed causing a massive fire half a mile long.’ How Corporate Greed Destroyed East Palestine ***** news, Second Thought 2023
‘Well over 115,000 gallons of vinyl chloride.’ ibid. news conference
‘Breathing issues, tightness in our chests, severe headaches …’ ibid. victim
East Palestine Residents Report Health Problems After Train Derailment. ibid. Newsweek
These amounts are nothing. They are worse than nothing. They are an insult to the people [Norfolk Southern] they just poisoned. ibid. commentary
Between 2012 and 2014 North America was hit with a string of devastating trail derailments … labelled ‘bomb trains’. ibid.
Unions were sounding the alarm … [about] cutting costs and reducing the operating ratios for rail companies. ibid.
Safety is a cost that needs to be minimised. ibid.
Five major rail unions have stood in common sense opposition to this attempt to make railways even less safe … Rail companies use the piles of money they made by caring less about safety to influence policy and make sure that safety is even further reduced, and as a result, we suffer preventable catastrophic accidents. ibid.
This train derailment wasn’t being talked about much … a media matter. ibid.
So long as the profit motive remains the driving factor, nothing will meaningfully change. It’s time to nationalise the railways. ibid.
It’s one of Britain’s most celebrated marvels of engineering. A machine that stirs passion in legions of steam fans all over the world. She’s the most famous and enduring locomotive on the planet. Rob Bell, The Flying Scotsman: Pride of Britain, Channel 5 2018
In an action-packed life, The Flying Scotsman has played her part in the Second World War, defied attempts to scrap her and even bankrupted some of her owners. ibid.
One of the most beautiful and powerful steam locomotives ever built. ibid.
I say, Smitty, I hear that train spotters are in the same category as peeping toms. The Wednesday Play: The Last Train Through Harecastle Tunnel, office’ talk, BBC 1969
I’m going on the last train through Harecastle Tunnel. ibid. Benjamin
The lines speaks to those who have ears. You know to me the railways are poetry. I’m more alive sitting here than I could possible be anywhere else. ibid.
All that remains in the end is what is built and what is beautiful. ibid.
Excuse me, this case is not in your way, is it? The Wednesday Play: The Compartment/Playmates by Johnny Speight, starring Marty Feldman, madman to passenger, ITV 1969
See, this is why so many trains get lost … ibid.
You have ignored me! Is that polite? ibid.
When the revolution comes, you’ll be one of the first to go. ibid.
You didn’t know I had a gun. ibid.
Bark like an Alsatian …. Down on the floor … We’ve had a lovely game. ibid.
2nd June 2023: A high-speed train carrying hundreds of passengers collides with two other trains in India. The crash kills 295 people and injures more than 800. It’s one of the deadliest rail accidents in history. This World: Why Trains Crash, BBC 2024
The crash raises safety concerns in India and around the world. Just three months earlier another collision killed dozens in Greece. ibid.
Why did three trains collide in India? And what measures can prevent it happening again? ibid.
More than 75,000 miles of track connect India’s cities. ibid.
1998: Germany’s worst rail disaster since the Second World War … a high speed train derailed killing 101 people and injuring more than 100. ibid.
London, October 1999: The collision killed 31 people and injured more than 100 others. ibid.
Greece 2023: It’s deadliest rail disaster … 57 died and at least 85 were injured. ibid.
India: Technicians installed the level crossing incorrectly. ibid.
Could the Odisha crash point to wider problems around railway safety and maintenance? ibid.
10,000 trains provide a lifeline to 19 million passengers. ibid.