A silence will be held to mark the time of the accident at the crash memorial site high above the railway line at Ladbroke Grove in west London on Saturday.
It will be followed by a service at St Helen’s Church in North Kensington, where 31 candles – each bearing the name of one of the deceased – will be lit alongside a 32nd candle for all the survivors.
Just before 8.10am on October 5 1999, a rush-hour train collided almost head on with a London-bound high-speed train which was heading for Paddington station.
The Thames Trains driver, Michael Hodder, 31, and the First Great Western (FGW) driver, Brian Cooper, 52, were among those killed as the collision led to a fireball in which coach H was burnt out.
As well as the fatalities, more than 220 other people were injured, including Paddington Survivors Group chairman Jonathan Duckworth, now 61, from Stroud in Gloucestershire.
Travelling on the FGW train, Mr Duckworth said he was left “battered and bruised” after being thrown around the carriage during the crash, and later he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The former shopping centre manager told the PA news agency that the crash had changed the lives of so many people caught up in the disaster and its aftermath.
He added: “It is a desperately sad day for the bereaved because it is such an unnecessary day – the crash should not have happened.
“There…
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