LONDON — The government Monday confirmed that failure of a railway switching mechanism appeared to have been the cause of the Potters Bar train derailment, which killed seven people and injured 70, reports a wire service.
“Early indications are that a set of points south of the station were the cause of the derailment,” Transport Secretary Stephen Byers told the House of Commons.
Friday’s crash at the station 12 miles (19 kms) north of London occurred when the train passed over a faulty set of points — the mechanism that diverts trains onto different tracks.
Railtrack, which is responsible for for rail infrastructure, had initially reported that the points were replaced in December, but Byers told Parliament he had later been informed they were 8 years old. Byers said the points had a standard life of 20 to 25 years.
An interim report from the Health and Safety Executive is expected to be released within the next few days and Byers ordered a formal, lengthier investigation by the executive.
“Lives have lost and we must not forget those who have survived but who will be mentally and physically scarred for the rest of their lives,” he said.
“That’s why it’s vital that we discover not just what happened at Potters Bar but how it happened.”
He confirmed reports that gauge corner cracking — a type of metal fatigue — had led to a speed restriction in September 2001 on the track near Potters Bar, but that the restriction was lifted Dec. 24 and experts did not believe it was linked to the crash.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, said a rail worker had reported rusty or missing bolts near the Potters Bar points three weeks ago and that the track was in a poor state because maintenance had not been properly conducted.
“What’s basically happened here is that you’ve got something in the region of 3,000 agencies working on the rail network, eight infrastructure companies, all competing against each other, all trying to make a profit,” Crow told Sky News.
“What Railtrack should be doing is having all of this work brought back in house.”
Railtrack owns, manages and operates almost all of Britain’s railway infrastructure. But it contracts out much of the work to private companies.
The Times newspaper reported Monday that in an interview with the paper on Wednesday, Railtrack chief executive John Armitt voiced concerns that short-term maintenance contracts meant contractors were more likely to employ inexperienced agency staff rather than training their own workers.
Bad weather hampered removal the final carriage of the four-car train, which was wedged under the roof of the station platform.
Hertfordshire Police have identified the seven victims as Austen Kark, 75, of north London; Agnes Quinlivan, 80, of Potters Bar; Jonael Schickler, 25, of East Sussex; Emma Knights, 29, from Cambridgeshire; Alexander Ogonwusi, 42, of southwest London; Chia-Hsin Lin, 29, a Taiwanese national living in London, and Chia-Chin Wu, 32, a Taiwan-based journalist for television network TVBS.