Faulty points to blame for Cumbria rail crash

Rail chiefs declared themselves devastated yesterday by a report into the Cumbria rail crash which showed strong similarities to the Potters Bar disaster nearly five years ago.

An interim report found that vital components were missing from the points - the "immediate cause" of the derailment near the village of Grayrigg last Friday.

Investigators also discovered that the last visual inspection of the site, due on Sunday 18 February, did not take place.

The investigation into the 95mph derailment of a Virgin London to Glasgow express, in which one elderly woman was killed and five other passengers were seriously injured, indicates that there were fatal shortcomings in the maintenance regime under the control of Network Rail. A report into the Potters Bar crash, in which seven people lost their lives, came to a similar conclusion about the management system under Railtrack, which was then responsible for the infrastructure.

A Railtrack contractor, Jarvis, eventually accepted responsibility for the appalling state of a set of points, since which track maintenance has been taken "in-house" by the state-backed Network Rail.

Commenting on the report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB), John Armitt, the chief executive of the infrastructure organisation, said: "Network Rail is devastated to conclude that the condition of the set of points at Grayrigg caused this terrible accident.

"We accept the RAIB report in all respects. We would like to apologise to all the people affected by the failure of the infrastructure. We now need to understand how the points came to be in this condition - and we will leave no stone unturned in our search for the facts behind this derailment."

An aide said Mr Armitt's comments should be contrasted with the "mealy-mouthed" responses the now-defunct Railtrack gave in the wake of crashes.

The RAIB document said that one of three "stretcher bars" - which keep the crossover rails apart on the points - was missing. Investigators also found that bolts which secured the "lock bar" and another stretcher bar, were not in place. "Some of these bolts and the associated nuts and washers were found in the ballast, but others were not."

It said there was no evidence that the bolts were wrenched free. Two of the stretcher bars were fractured - in one case because of the derailment, but in another case before the crash.

"There was therefore no complete stretcher bar in place between the switch rails immediately before the derailment," it says.

All this means that one rail at the points was directing the train to another track, but the other was pointing straight ahead.

Iain Black, the driver of the Virgin Pendolino who was hailed as a hero for his actions as the train derailed, said: "I am obviously distraught that one person died in the accident and saddened about those who remain seriously ill and I wish them all a speedy recovery ... I'm just glad more people were not seriously injured."

The four grandchildren of the woman who died - Margaret "Peggy" Masson - paid tribute to their "generous, loving nan".

An injured passenger, Graeme Stewart, 28, speaking at Royal Preston Hospital, said: "I don't want to blame anyone, but I want a reason for what happened."

Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Rail Group, praised the infrastructure company "for taking it on the chin" and said the report showed the strength of the Pendolino carriages which did not break up in the crash. He said Virgin's "prime concern" was those who remained in hospital, including Mr Black.

Anthony Smith, the chief executive of Passenger Focus,said the findings of the RAIB report were "extremely disconcerting".

Rail unions called for a full-scale public inquiry, unlike the investigation into the Potters Bar disaster, which took place "behind closed doors".