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Inquest starts into Grayrigg train crash

Five years after the death of a passenger and over 80 injuries, a Coroner is expected to hear evidence of track failings and safety management shortcomings

Guardian 24 October 2011

The inquest into the death of a passenger after the Grayrigg train crash in Cumbria opens today, Monday 24 October, giving a second chance to families and friends who failed to win a public inquiry.

Three weeks of evidence are expected to concentrate on track maintenance in the weeks before the Virgin Pendolino 'tilting train' derailed at high speed on 23 February 2007.

The overnight rescue operation in a remote part of the county saw 105 people on board evacuated in harsh conditions, with 85 passengers and two crew injured. But emergency services were unable to save the life of Margaret Masson, 84, after all eight carriages left the track and were flung down an embankment at 8.12pm.

Known as Peggy, Mrs Masson was travelling to London to see her daughter Margaret Langley who is expected to be among the first to give evidence. The inquest at Cumbria county council's offices in Kendal will also hear from the train driver Iain Black from Dumbarton, who suffered serious neck injuries and was praised for his heroism by Virgin's head Sir Richard Branson.

An inquiry by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch has established that the train was derailed by a "degraded and unsafe" set of points called Lambrigg 2B. One of three stretcher bars designed to keep moving rails a set distance apart was missing, the other two were broken and a number of bolts could not be found.

The report also referred to "underlying factors" in safety management by Network Rail which was the target of 21 of its 29 safety recommendations. An example was planned inspection of the fatal stretch of track which was scheduled for five days before the accident, but did not go ahead.

The crash came soon after safety recommendations were made following track faults which led to four deaths in the Hatfield crash in October 2000 and seven at Potters Bar in May 2002. Bob Crow, general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, said:

It is absolutely clear from all the evidence that systematic management failings, lack of resources and the fragmented 'contract' culture, still prevalent on the railway, all played their part in the complex of causes of the Grayrigg derailment.

Both the RAIB report and Network Rail's own report have pointed clearly to management failings and lack of resources contributing to the Grayrigg derailment, and it is those structural failings that still need to be addressed.

The inquest jury and the Coroner for south and east Cumbria, Ian Smith, will in due course pronounce.

Network Rail to blame for fatal Grayrigg train crash, says family

Margaret Masson, 84, died after train derailed in Cumbria in 2007 because of badly maintained points, inquest finds

Helen Carter
guardian.co.uk, Friday 4 November 2011 19.27 GMT

The family of a grandmother killed in the Grayrigg train crash have blamed Network Rail for her death.

They said they held the firm responsible for the death of Margaret Masson after a jury at her inquest found a set of badly-maintained points caused the 2007 train derailment in Cumbria.

Her son George Masson described as a "scapegoat" the overworked engineer who admitted forgetting to check the points, but who had warned Network Rail bosses months before the crash about safety concerns.

Network Rail, which is responsible for track maintenance, was also facing calls for a public inquiry into its handling of the rail network and possible criminal charges.

Masson, 84, died when a Virgin Pendolino express train travelling from London to Glasgow derailed on the west coast mainline in 2007 after passing over a "degraded and unsafe" set of points.

All eight carriages were derailed and 86 passengers and two crew were injured as the train came off the rails at 95mph, scattering carriages down an embankment. During the two-week inquest into Masson's death the jury heard of a missed opportunity to check the points five days before the crash.

David Lewis, who at the time was a track supervisor for Network Rail, broke down in tears as he told the jury he had forgotten to do so. The inquest heard that Lewis had been overworked and his team understaffed, with men not given the right tools or enough time to carry out checks. Lewis, who has since left Network Rail, had warned his bosses about the "shambles".

The coroner told the jurors that their role was to find out the facts, not to apportion blame, and said they could not use any words in a verdict that implied criticism. They found that the badly maintained points caused Masson's death.

Outside the court George Masson, 62, an engineer from Castlemilk, Glasgow, said: "In my eyes it is negligence on Network Rail's part, not him [Lewis]. The one that tried to make changes lost his job, his pension, he was not listened to from above.

"Before I knew anything about this I wanted to take his head off his shoulders. Now I totally respect him. He's got my utmost respect for what he tried to do. It's been swept under the carpet. They have not learned from Potters Bar."

He said Lewis had been made a scapegoat. "He's the only one who has shown any remorse or integrity," he said. Lewis told the inquest he had felt like a man "spinning plates on sticks" and had been under pressure when he failed to carry out the check. His colleague Paul Wills, an assistant track section manager, told the inquest that staff had to put up with "bully-boy" management.

The Office of Rail Regulation said: "We welcome the conclusion of the inquest. ORR will now complete its investigation and will decide in accordance with prosecution protocol whether to bring criminal proceedings for health and safety offences."