£12m for rail crash victims 'means nothing'

A solicitor acting for families of those killed and injured in the Potters Bar rail crash today said a £12million compensation package was "meaningless".

Railtrack is offering families of the seven people who died in the Hertfordshire tragedy in May up to £1million each, while any remaining cash will go to the 67 who were injured.

Railtrack stressed the payment is not an admission of liability and said that it is proving difficult to establish which firm was to blame for the derailment when points broke as a train passed over at 100mph.

But lawyer Louise Christian said: "The figure of £12million means nothing because what matters is how individual cases are treated. If it's not high enough, we're still going to have to go to court.

"The compensation is very important to the victims. But it's not the whole of the story. They need to know the root causes are going to be determined and action is going to be taken to prevent it happening again."

Renewing her call for a public inquiry, Ms Christian added: "Jarvis [the firm responsible for maintaining the points] and Railtrack are blaming each other due to the fragmented nature of the privatised industry."

Railtrack chief executive John Armitt said it was impossible for anyone to accept liability until British Transport Police and Health and Safety Executive investigations are complete.