19 September 2003
Renewed questions were raised about the efficiency of private firms carrying out rail maintenance after Jarvis Rail admitted responsibility for another derailment this week.
The incident, which closed part of London's King's Cross station on September 16, was caused by a faulty set of points that had not been properly reset after overnight maintenance work, the company admitted.
The locomotive and a carriage of the train came off the rails at around 10mph despite attempts by the driver to stop when he spotted the defect. The incident disrupted parts of the rail network but no-one was hurt.
'The private sector has failed the railways and everyone knows it,' said Bob Crow, leader of the RMT rail union. 'It is time to put safety ahead of profit.'
Jarvis is already under investigation following the Potter's Bar train crash in May last year, which was blamed on a faulty set of points. The firm maintains that the accident, in which seven people died, could have been caused by sabotage.
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