Metronet blamed for White City derailment

The largest private-sector company maintaining the Tube was today condemned in an official report for failings which led to a derailment at White City station this year.

London Underground's own investigation into why a Central line train came off the track in May will spark another major row over Tube safety standards.

Metronet, the consortium responsible for two thirds of all Tube maintenance, is blamed for failing to take adequate measures to ensure that a set of track points was maintained properly.

The report found there was "inadequate communication and management" within the company. This was found to be a "key failure" in Metronet not complying with specific measures ordered by LU.

LU is also criticised because its managers failed to check that work was being carried out properly by Metronet.

The findings will infuriate Mayor Ken Livingstone, who does not believe the privatesector firms - ordered to take over the Tube under the Government's public private partnership - are carrying out the work properly. It will also anger the unions who want maintenance work returned "in-house", as it has been on the national mainline rail network.

The White City points are of the same design as those which contributed to the derailment at Camden Town last year. There are 42 similar sets across the network, used daily by three million people.

LU is now improving its inspection procedures to ensure that all extra requirements relating to the 42 sets of points of the White City and Camden Town design are carried out correctly.

There were no passengers injured in the White City derailment but it caused considerable disruption to Central line services.