LONDON — A wire service reported that the company responsible for Britain’s railway infrastructure denied that it had been warned about the faulty track switching mechanism that caused a derailment, which killed seven people.
But rail maintenance contractor Jarvis PLC said its inspectors had discovered the same problem that caused Friday’s crash — at the switching mechanism that diverts trains to different tracks — just nine days earlier and had repaired it. A union official also said Monday that a rail worker had drawn attention to the faulty set of points three weeks ago.
The government confirmed Monday that the train was forced off the rails at Potters Bar station, 12 miles north of London, because nuts had been detached from bolts at the switching points.
John Armitt, chief executive of Railtrack, which manages the infrastructure, said the company had not received any official information about problems with the track.
“We have not been able to identify any record which shows that we received any particular warning about the state of the track, and particularly the state of the points at Potters Bar,” Armitt told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
He said some passengers said they felt a jolt, but no train drivers reported a problem.
But Jarvis PLC said the same nuts were discovered detached and put back in place in a routine check on May 1. It said they were the same ones found detached again after the accident.
Transport Secretary Stephen Byers has said an investigation into the crash is considering all possibilities — poor maintenance, human error and vandalism.
The Potters Bar crash has led to calls from unions and some lawmakers for Railtrack to cease contracting out maintenance work on the railways to private companies.
Armitt said that was not necessary, but that Railtrack wanted to have a greater direct role.
The operation to remove the final carriage of the four-car train, which was wedged under the roof of the station platform, resumed Tuesday.