10. Clapham remembered, Scotland Part 2, and chaos at Paddington

It’s another busy episode with plenty to talk about… and this time, we’ve gone ‘on location’ too! Richard Bowker reports from Siemens Mobility’s HQ in Chippenham, where he attended a very special event on December 12 which marked 35 years since the notorious Clapham rail accident in which 35 people died and a further 69 suffered life-changing injuries. It was a tragic disaster that led to fundamental changes in railway safety management. Then we return to Scotland for part 2 of our exploration of railways north of the border, speaking to Director of Rail at Transport Scotland Bill Reeve, who gives us a strategic and government perspective… and it’s a fascinating chat! Finally, we have a frank discussion about the major incident at Paddington on December 7, which led to stranded passengers self-evacuating. And Richard doesn’t pull his punches on this one…