Rail disaster firm broke health and safety laws

RAIL firm Thames Trains was facing unlimited fines yesterday after pleading guilty to breaking health and safety laws in the Paddington rail disaster.

Thirty-one people died and hundreds more were injured when a Thames commuter train went through a red light and ploughed into a First Great Western express at 8.09am on October 5, 1999.

The public inquiry into the crash at Ladbroke Grove, outside Paddington Station in west London, criticised Thames Trains for its “slack” safety culture in training drivers.