Gatwick crash linked to poor track repairs

New concerns about rail safety emerged today as investigators linked last week's derailment of a Gatwick Express train to possible faulty maintenance and poor track inspection.

Network Rail investigators studying the 75mph crash have impounded the machine used by contractors for making sure track is secure and sent it for examination at rail laboratories in Derby.

The move renewed passenger fears over safety and comes 24 hours after six rail chiefs were charged with manslaughter over the Hatfield crash in which four people died and 70 were injured.

Network Rail - formerly Railtrack - and Balfour Beatty, the maintenance company responsible for the Hatfield track at the time of the October 2000 crash, were also charged with corporate manslaughter.

The Gatwick derailment happened when the rear wheels of the last carriage of the 5.20am service from the airport ran over what investigators believe was a buckled section of track. Luckily, the train stayed upright and did not come off the track.

The express was the first train of the day following overnight engineering works. One industry report says a major disaster was only narrowly avoided by the driver's quick thinking when he saw the buckled line ahead of him and hit the brakes.

Night- time track maintenance involves a large "tamper" machine. This is used to compact the track ballast and ensure the running rails are a proper fit. If the track is not compacted properly, it can lead to the running rails being out of true.

The tamper machine is owned by Jarvis, the maintenance company responsible for the points at Potters Bar, where a fault led to the derailment in May last year which killed seven people and injured more than 70.

Jarvis, however, was not carrying out the Gatwick maintenance. It had leased the machine to another company, Amec, which carried out the work. The Gatwick derailment happened near Redhill station as the express headed for Victoria. It caused huge disruption and closed the main Brighton line.

A senior rail source connected with the investigation said: "The tamper machine is now in Derby being examined. We don't yet know if it is at fault or whether a combination of track and train faults caused the derailment.

"The passenger on board really did have a lucky escape - if the train had turned over at that speed, which it could easily have done, we would have had another disaster." Investigators are also looking at who was responsible for checking the track before the line opened for passenger service. One woman suffered whiplash injuries in the crash and several others were treated for shock.

Investigators are studying one theory that the express began to rock violently as it travelled over the suspect section of track which in turn caused the rear carriage to derail.

The force of the derailment caused extensive damage to the track ripping up sleepers and fixings over several hundred yards, which has made investigations all the more difficult. Network-Rail, while not commenting on the possible cause of the crash, said its new maintenance policy will greatly improve both the checking and specification of work carried out.

The rail unions are campaigning vigorously for maintenance to be taken out of the hands of private contractors and brought back "in house" under the direct control of Network Rail.

Last month, there was union anger when it was revealed that Balfour Beatty was favourite to win a new 10-year contract worth nearly £1billion installing new lines and points on many London commuter routes.