Survivors of Britain's most devastating train crash of modern times will gather today to commemorate its 25th anniversary.

The Clapham rail disaster happened at 8.13am on December 12 1988.

Thirty-five people died and hundreds were injured as three trains carrying an estimated 1,300 passengers collided at Clapham Junction - then the busiest rail intersection in Europe.

The accident happened after a Poole to Waterloo service slammed head-on into a Basingstoke to Waterloo train that was stationary at a red signal.

A third train, travelling in the opposite direction without passengers, hit the wreckage only minutes later.

An inquiry into the crash found that an overworked rail employee, who'd had only one day off in 13 weeks, had made wiring errors that resulted in the tragedy. The inquiry recommended that working hours be limited to 12 hour shifts, as well as a range of other safety protocols.

Two minutes silence will be observed at the memorial garden close to the site of the crash in south London. A longer service is to be held later in the morning at the same location.

Canon Hilary Johnson of St George's Hospital in Tooting, where many of the injured were taken, will conduct the services.

Railway union RMT paid its respects yesterday to the dead, the injured and the emergency services and issued a warn-
ing that the lessons learned
from the crash were being
forgotten.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "The tragedy is an eternal warning of what happens when staff are suffering fatigue and are operating within a culture of excessive hours and impossible demands.

"Twenty-five years on from Clapham, RMT is issuing a renewed call for an end to the casualisation and zero-hours contracts culture which is being rolled out across the railways by stealth and where fatigue and a lack of clear management control are
once again being flagged
up as major issues by our members.

"We are also repeating our call for the safety-critical role of train guards to be recognised by the government and the rail companies and for the senseless and dangerous drive to remove guards from our railways to be brought to a halt."