WHY is it important to remember the anniversary of the Clapham rail disaster 20 years ago?

It is a day I will never forget.

The train that crashed was one I used to travel on every day to work at Southampton. But the day before, if my memory serves me right, some wantwit had pushed a concrete mixer on to the line at Parkstone, causing a derailment.

As a result a bus service was operating between Poole and Bournemouth and so I left home extra early, getting another train, to make sure I got to work on time.

I can vividly recall the horror that was felt in our newsroom that day when the first reports started coming in of a major crash at Clapham.

Then, those grim photographs started showing the most unimaginable devastation. And reports kept coming in telling of the death and injury toll.

But the chilling reality of what had happened hit home harder in the following weeks. Along with all the other passengers who regularly caught that early train, I would look around and remember other passengers who were no longer to be seen. Were they among the injured or the dead?

The inquiry that followed revealed a host of contributary errors and, no doubt, safety improvements followed.

But they did not stop the Purley rail crash in 1989, the Southall crash in 1997, the Paddington disaster in 1999, Hatfield in 2000 or Potters Bar in 2002, did they?

That is why it is important to remember anniversaries like Clapham. Because it reminds everyone of the importance of being extra-vigilant when it comes to safety.

Otherwise, as we have seen too many times, it could happen again.