London train crash: special report

Thirty-one people died and dozens were injured when a commuter service run by Thames Trains passed a red signal - the now infamous signal 109 - and collided with a Great Western express on 5 October 1999.

Poem in memory of those killed

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The fatal collision

Signal 'partly obscured'
The key signal might have been partly obscured by overhead line equipment, the second interim report into the disaster has said.

How the accident happened

The first HSE crash report in full

The 31 victims

Why the death toll fell

Driver returning for son's birthday

In pictures: The London train crash

Chronology of UK rail accidents

 "1952: Similarities to the Harrow crash"

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Safety in the spotlight

Rail safety plans unveiled
The UK Government reveals emergency measures to improve rail safety following the Paddington disaster, as the Queen visits the site of the crash.

Crash signal 109 was not the worst

Southall carriages on crash train

France: safer but more costly

Q&A: UK compared to Europe?

Counting the cost of a life

Fire: worst aspect of the tragedy

The safety systems

Is rail travel becoming less safe?

 "Signal 109 had been passed 8 times before"

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Inquiries and investigations

Call for a single inquiry
Faced with several official inquries and investigations, a group of lawyers is calling for a single Accidents and Disasters Bureau to deal with incidents like the west London crash.

Lord Cullen: heading the crash inquiry

Sir David Davies: studies rail safety

Drivers 'victims of the blame game'

Is profit to blame?

Talking Point: Safety vs cost?

Anger over rail crash 'immunity'

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Coping with the crash

Crash memorial in pictures
Hundreds of people attended memorial services to the dead on the Sunday following the crash.

Mourning without a body

Months of plastic surgery

Compensation procedure simplified

'I'm lucky to be alive'

'Everyone thought I was dead'

Victims offered counselling

Passengers relive their horror

 The BBC's Phil Longman describes the crash
 Mark Rogers: "A terrifying experience"
 Chris Norman relives the crash impact
 David Miles: A survivor twice over

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Heroes of the rescue

Paramedics faced horrific decisions
Critically injured passengers had to be left to die as the first medical teams on the scene battled to treat victims who could be saved.

'Nothing prepared me for the horror'

Iain West: Witness to tragedy

Victims were 'so calm'

Identifying the dead

Rescuing the rescuers

Emergency medical services plan

The fire brigade - freeing the victims