Network Rail has been fined £4 million over the Grayrigg train derailment in Cumbria in 2007 which killed one person and injured 86 others.
On 23 February 2007, the 17.15 Virgin Trains service from London Euston to Glasgow Central derailed on the West Coast Mainline.
The train travelled over a set of ‘degraded’ points at 92mph and hurled down an embankment.
109 people were on board. Mrs Margaret Masson, a passenger travelling in the first carriage, was killed. Of the 86 people injured, 28 were seriously hurt.
Network Rail admitted health and safety breaches.
David Higgins, Network Rail chief executive, said:
“The Grayrigg derailment in 2007 resulting in the tragic death of Mrs Masson was a terrible event. Within hours it was clear that the infrastructure was at fault and we accepted responsibility, so it is right that we have been fined.
“Nothing we can say or do will lessen the pain felt by Mrs Masson’s family but we will make the railways safer and strive to prevent such an accident ever happening again.
“We have learnt from the accident, determined to recognise what we got wrong and put it right. An event like this affects everyone in the company, and especially those with responsibility for the track.
“Since the accident, much has changed in the way we plan and carry out maintenance work with new systems put in place to improve the quality and safety of our railway which is why we now have one of the safest passenger railways in Europe.”
