CHRONOLOGY-Recent British train crashes
Source: Reuters
Feb. 24 (Reuters) - An elderly woman has been killed and five others seriously injured when a high-speed tilting train derailed in northern England. Following are some of the worst train crashes in Britain over the last two decades: Dec. 12, 1988 - Thirty-five people die in a crash involving three trains at Clapham Junction in London. Slack safety measures are blamed. March 4, 1989 - Six people die and at least 50 are injured when two passenger trains smash into each other in Purley on the southern outskirts of London. March 6, 1989 - Two days later, two people are killed and 44 injured when two trains collide head-on near Glasgow. Sept. 19, 1997 - Seven people die when a passenger train and a freight train collide at Southall in west London. An official inquiry finds the driver of the high-speed passenger train chiefly responsible. The train operator, Great Western Trains, was fined a record 1.5 million pounds. Oct. 5, 1999 - The Ladbroke Grove crash in which two trains collide near Paddington station, killing 31 people. One of the trains had gone through a red signal. Oct. 17, 2000 - Four people are killed and 30 injured when a passenger train derails at Hatfield, 30 miles north of London. A major programme of track refurbishment begins. Feb. 28, 2001 - 10 people are killed and dozens injured when a passenger express collides with a vehicle on the line before being hit by a freight train travelling in the opposite direction, near the Yorkshire town of Selby. May 10, 2002 - Seven people die and 90 are injured, 5 seriously, in a derailment at Potters Bar, north of London. Nov 6, 2004 - A passenger train travelling from Paddington to Plymouth crashes into a car at a level crossing in Berkshire near the village of Ufton Nervet, killing seven and injuring dozens. Dec 6, 2004 - Two people die when a train and a van collide at a crossing near Sleaford in Lincolnshire. Feb. 23, 2006 - A Virgin Pendolino tilting train from London to Glasgow derails near Kendal in Cumbria killing an 80-year-old woman and seriously injuring five others.
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