The 20th National Rail Safety Week is being marked with a solemn ceremony at the Australian Railway Monument in Werris Creek on Wednesday.

The ceremony honoured rail workers who have died in service to Australia’s rail network.

Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson said the service was a solemn reminder of the dangers faced by workers who build and maintain the Nation’s railways.

“Across generations, men and women have worked on the rail lines that built our nation and connected our regions to the capital cities and the world,” Mr Anderson said.

“Through heat, cold and rain, they have kept our trains running, keeping Australia moving forward through often dangerous working conditions.

“Their work has been essential and that is why more must be done to prevent future tragedy and ensure that those who go off to work, return home safely.”

More than 100 families, friends, and colleagues of those who have died, as well as representatives from across the rail industry, will hold a minute's silence and lay wreaths next to the names that will be remembered forever.

Each of the more than 4,500 names on the National Railway Monument at Werris Creek represents the loss of a railway worker since the 1850s.

This year, four new names have been added to the walls of the monument. One of them was Troy Ernst, a freight train driver who died in an accident in December last year.

The others are names of railway workers, one whose death dates back to early this century and two others from the 1920s and 30s. Their names have only just been added to the monument due to recent research by volunteers from the Australian Railway Monument and Rail Journeys Museum.

Hosted by NSW TrainLink and the TrackSAFE Foundation, the event is both a moment of reflection and a time for the rail industry to collectively commit to preventing future tragedies among Australia's 165,000-strong rail workforce.