'Faulty points' caused UK rail crash

Byers announced "an immediate formal investigation" into the crash

LONDON, England -- The UK government has confirmed that faulty points caused last week's rail crash north of London which killed seven people and injured about 70 others.

In a statement to the House of Commons on Monday, Transport Secretary Stephen Byers said two nuts were missing from the points system -- a switching mechanism which allows a train to change tracks -- and this had caused the rear carriage to derail.

Byers said the points system was eight years old -- far older than the six months that UK rail infrastructure operator Railtrack had originally reported.

The train -- which was travelling at between 80 and 90 mph -- derailed on Friday at Potters Bar north of London.

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Byers told the Commons that the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission will recommend that it directs the Health and Safety Executive to conduct "an immediate formal investigation into the circumstances of the train derailment."

The report would be made public as soon as possible.

"I am sure that the whole House will join me in expressing our condolences to the bereaved and in wishing a speedy recovery to those who were injured" in the Potters Bar rail crash, he said.

"We owe a responsibility to all of those involved in the Potters Bar derailment, a responsibility to identify exactly what took place and then take the necessary steps in response. This is a responsibility that we will discharge."

Byers said Railtrack had inspected 800 sets of points across the country and found no similar defects to those found at Potters Bar.

Byers made his statement hours after it was revealed that a rail worker alerted management to problems at the points at Potters Bar three weeks before the disaster.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT transport union, said the worker was giving evidence about his concerns to police.

Crow said the worker, an RMT member, reported a problem with the check rail near the points and said the track was in a poor state.

He reported to management a problem with the check rail leading to the points at Potters Bar, Crow told the Press Association.

"Our member wrote a letter saying that the track was not in a fit state. No response was made to him.

"He is now speaking to British Transport Police explaining what he said."

The jammed fourth carriage of the train was being removed on Monday

Crow was speaking as the fatal fourth carriage of the train that had become wedged between the platforms and overhang at the Potters Bar station was being removed with the help of Britain's largest crane.

Crow said he did not want to specify the man's job or say who he wrote to. Over the weekend, members of the public told how they were used to hearing a jolt as trains approached Potters Bar station at speed.

"I think it is scandalous what has been put around in the media this weekend about this being a one-off," said Crow.

"This wasn't a one-off. I don't think it was sabotage, I think the vibrations of the train allowed the nuts to come off the bolts."

Crow said safety standards were inadequate because there were not enough track inspectors, and too many casual workers were responsible for track work.

"A track inspector will have miles and miles of track to cover," said Crow. "He cannot possibly spot everything.

"There needs to be four times as many track inspectors."

He added: "And if we cannot have re-nationalisation then at least all the workers should be brought under the umbrella of Railtrack.

A policewoman adds her tribute to the flowers outside the station

"Short-term and casual workers do not bring the dedication to the job that long-term workers on full-time contracts do. Railtrack is the ultimate person with responsibility."

But Jarvis, the contractor that maintains the track at the site of the crash, dismissed suggestions of using untrained workers.

Jarvis said one of its maintenance teams tested the Potters Bar track on May 1 and a visual inspection followed on May 9, the day before the crash.

Jarvis and Railtrack have said the points at the centre of the accident investigation met safety standards on May 9. (More on points theory)

"In both cases, these tests and inspections were carried out by full-time Jarvis employees. No sub-contracted personnel were involved," Jarvis said in a statement released by the London Stock Exchange on Monday. (Jarvis shares plunge)

"Each of the Jarvis staff involved is fully experienced and qualified and holds all requisite training certification," it added in the statement dated May 12.

The Potters Bar crash is the latest blow to an industry which has lurched from crisis to crisis over recent years. (Details)

Among the victims was Austen Kark, the former head of the British Broadcasting Corporation's World Service, who was aged 75. His wife, children's writer Nina Bawden, 77, is recovering from multiple fractures.

Potters Bar resident Agnes Quinlivan, 80, was killed by falling debris as she walked under the station bridge.

Others who died were Swiss-born Cambridge University divinity student Jonael Shickler, 25; Londoner Alexander Ogonwusi, 42; Emma Knights, 29, from Cambridgeshire; and Chia-Ching Wu, 32, and Chia-Hsin Lin, 29, who worked for the same Taiwanese TV station. (Taiwan reporters among dead)

Their friend Hai Jiu-Liu is in critical condition in intensive care at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, north London, with brain injuries.

The 35-year-old, a prominent journalist in Hong Kong, is known to about 1.8 billion people, Hertfordshire Police said. Her family is at her bedside.

Friday's accident happened a few miles from Hatfield, where four people died when an express came off the tracks in 2000. (Full story)