Potters Bar crash: report highlights scale of failures

Rail contractor Jarvis faces prosecution after an official report highlighted lax safety measures which may have led to the Potters Bar rail crash.

Seven people died and 76 were injured when a London to King's Lynn express came off the track at 100mph after a set of points broke underneath the train in May 2002.

In a confidential briefing to victims' relatives, health and safety investigators have revealed the scale of the firm's failings. Relatives were told that:

? The system for fixing defects was virtually " nonexistent".

? Jarvis maintenance staff "routinely" found track nuts vibrating loose - missing nuts led to the collapse of the Potters Bar points.

? Key track staff were "not fully competent" and did not even understand how track points worked.

? Railtrack inspectors did not visit track work.

The Health and Safety Executive has now passed a file on its investigations to the Crown Prosecution Service which will have to decide what action to take against Jarvis, the rail engineering giant responsible for maintenance of the points and Railtrack, now Network Rail, in overall charge of infrastructure.

An HSE spokeswoman confirmed: "Our file has gone to the CPS."

But sources say both Jarvis and NR will escape corporate manslaughter charges because of the difficulty in establishing any evidence linking specific individuals to the faulty track points which caused the four carriage West Anglia Great Northern Train to derail.

Instead, the HSE is expected to pursue separate action for the lesser charges of breaches of safety regulations.

Louise Christian, the solicitor who represented the families of five of those who died, said: "This was an absolute shambles from beginning to end."

She predicted Jarvis and NR would plead guilty to breaches of safety regulations "and escape with a fine" - and said the legal moves again showed there was a need for a public inquiry "to establish who was to blame and what the possible risks are for passengers today".

Once it has been decided officially there will be no manslaughter charges, an inquest will take place, scheduled for next month.