‘Memories are still very clear’ for survivors of Ufton Nervet train crash disaster, 20 years on

Survivors have gathered to remember one of the UK’s worst train crashes this century in West Berkshire.

On November 6, 2004, a Great Western high-speed train collided with a stationary car on the Ufton Nervet Level Crossing between Newbury and Theale.

Twenty years on, around 60 survivors paid their respects to the victims and those whose lives were affected at a vigil held near the site of the crash yesterday evening (Wednesday).

The car had been deliberately parked on the crossing by a local chef who wished to take his own life.

But upon impact, the train jackknifed and derailed, killing seven – including the train driver – and injuring more than 100 passengers.

On the busy train service from London Paddington to Penzance that day was Julie Lloyds.

She had been rushing home for her granddaughter’s birthday party in Newbury, where she still lives today.

But less than an hour into her journey, the train crashed.

She told newburytoday: “The memories are still very clear of the whole crash.

“It doesn’t haunt or rule my life anymore, but it’s there.

“I didn’t get off the train until about 8pm because I stayed with somebody who was trapped.

“My husband and daughter took me to the local hospital because they wanted me checked over.”

Mrs Lloyds escaped the incident with minor injuries, but said her memories of her ordeal have “never gone”.

“I just got to the stage where I thought I was coping all right until I wasn’t.”

Mrs Lloyds later sought counselling.

“For years, we drove past that area,” she added. “I wouldn’t go down there unless I needed to.

“I now realise and recognise it for the beautiful area that it always was and is.”

Mrs Lloyds attended yesterday’s vigil with other survivors she has befriended since the crash, and said the gatherings have been an important part of the healing process.

She continued: “We’ve always felt the need to go out there.

“It’s brought us all together and all the memories now are shared.

“It’s helped me and an awful lot of people just going out there and talking, laughing and crying altogether.

“I got to know a young 15-year-old girl who lost her best friend that night.

“They lived in Exeter so it was difficult for her to take flowers on her [friend’s] birthday and on the anniversaries, so I have done it for her ever since.

“She is now happily married, living in Germany with a young son.

“We still keep in touch. I text her last night because she couldn’t make it and told her she was in our thoughts.”

A year later, an independent report into the incident by Network Rail found that the deaths were a result of “deliberate misuse of the crossings, not because of any inherent fault in the design”.

The half-barrier crossing witnessed four further deaths after the 2004 tragedy.

Twelve years later, Network Rail closed and replaced the level crossing with a £7m road bridge in 2016 after repeated calls to improve safety from campaigners, including Mrs Lloyds.

“That feeling’s gone. You know it [another crash] can’t happen there,” she added.

“You have to pray it doesn’t happen anywhere else, but at least we know that crossing is safe.”

The disaster led to closure of hundreds of level crossings and safety improvements to train windows.