28/04/2004

Call for public inquiry into Potters Bar crash

Network Rail and rail maintenance company Jarvis have accepted legal responsibility for the Potters Bar rail crash, which claimed seven lives in May 2002.

The admission has prompted renewed calls for a public inquiry to be held into the incident. Solicitor Louise Christian, who is acting on behalf of the victims, said that the development reinforced the urgent need for a public inquiry.

Yesterday, Network Rail and Jarvis issued a joint announcement that said they had accepted the liability on behalf of the rail industry for all legally justified claims brought by the bereaved and injured.

Network rail had taken sole responsibility for the claims, but this announcement now means that Jarvis will have to pay half the compensation bill, which could be as much as £3 million.

However, Jarvis later stressed that they have not accepted the blame for causing the crash, which is still being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive.

The crash was caused by a faulty set of points, operated by Railtrack (now Network Rail) and maintained by engineering firm Jarvis. A report from the Health and Safety Executive last year said poor maintenance led to the points failure, which caused the derailment of a West Anglia Great Northern train, travelling from London to Kings Lynn.

The section of the track was the responsibility of Jarvis, which originally said vandalism could have been to blame. However subsequent accident reports found no evidence of this.

(KmcA)

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