Pam Warren was a successful pensions adviser with her own business. Her life was changed irrevocably that autumnal morning when she caught the doomed 6.03 express to Paddington.

Her face and hands were badly burnt in the fireball that engulfed carriage H of the First Great Western train.

She was in hospital for more than three months and has had several major operations. Skin has been grafted from her inner arms and thighs onto her face and hands.

In the wake of the crash Mrs Warren became the spokeswoman for the Paddington Survivors' Group.

They are asking for another train crash to happen, although God forbid it does

Just a few days ago it was her intervention in the Railtrack saga that many believe started the chain of events that made ex-Transport Secretary Stephen Byers quit his job.

She said that Mr Byers had given a misleading account of when the decision was taken to put Railtrack into administration when he delivered a statement to Parliament.

Her confident public persona sometimes disguises the extent of her injuries and her inevitable feelings of despair.

For many months Mrs Warren was instantly recognisable because of the clear plastic mask she had to wear to ensure the scar tissue on her face healed properly.

As a result of her injuries, she was forced to sell her business.

'Sense of purpose'

But she was determined to be positive despite everything and set up the survivors' group in April which helped her through the initial months and years.

She said at the time that it gave her "a sense of purpose" and "something to get up for".

"I'd like to think it has helped all the survivors that have joined simply because we've all got a shared experience," she told BBC News Online.

Months later the group continues to campaign fiercely for improvements to rail safety.

Pam Warren as she is today

"The thing that really shocks me is that occasionally when I caught the train before this happened, I did think back very occasionally to the Southall crash. But I made an assumption - I thought 'they will have learnt their lessons and things must be a lot safer now'," said Mrs Warren.

"The problem is people are now catching the train today thinking exactly the same as me, but frighteningly it hasn't changed.

"They are asking for another train crash to happen - although God forbid it does - but we are in constant fear at the Paddington Survivors' Group that that is exactly what will happen."

Putting the pressure on

Months ago Mrs Warren promised to become a thorn in the government's side if changes were not implemented in the wake of the Cullen's inquiry into the crash.

At the time she predicted: "Certainly the Paddington Survivors' Group will stick around long enough to let the public know what is being done".

She wants their demands met even now.

I have no political agenda - all I want is safe railways

Responding to suggestions that a special adviser to Mr Byers had made enquiries about possible political affiliations of survivors, Mrs Warren insists they had no political axe to grind.

"I have no political agenda. All I want is safe railways," she said.

"Don't they realise that the Paddington Survivors Group and myself will go away once improvements have been made on the rails? It's as simple as that.

"If this government put as much emphasis on addressing problems as they do on spin, the problems would go away."