<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-15593840">BBC website</a> 4 November 2011
The inquest into the death of Margaret Masson, 84, from Glasgow, who died after the Virgin train derailed on the West Coast Main Line in February, 2007 has concluded that badly-maintained points were to blame.
The train went over a "degraded" set of points at 92 mph and careered down an embankment, leaving 88 people injured. Network Rail engineer David Lewis told the hearing he had forgotten to inspect the points near where the crash happened. He said he was "under pressure" when he failed to check a section of the rail line five days before the derailment. His team were under-staffed, with workers not given the right tools or enough time to carry out checks. He had warned his boss about the "shambles."
His colleague Paul Wills, an assistant track section manager, told the hearing staff had to put up with "bully-boy" management.
The 11 jurors had heard how a subsequent Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) inquiry ruled the "immediate cause" of the crash was that the train had gone over a "degraded and unsafe" set of points, known as Lambrigg 2B.
One of three stretcher bars, which keep moving rails a set distance apart, was missing while the other two were fractured and bolts were missing.
The inquest into the death of Margaret Masson, 84, from Glasgow, who died after the Virgin train derailed on the West Coast Main Line in February, 2007 has concluded that badly-maintained points were to blame.
The train went over a "degraded" set of points at 92 mph and careered down an embankment, leaving 88 people injured. Network Rail engineer David Lewis told the hearing he had forgotten to inspect the points near where the crash happened. He said he was "under pressure" when he failed to check a section of the rail line five days before the derailment. His team were under-staffed, with workers not given the right tools or enough time to carry out checks. He had warned his boss about the "shambles."
His colleague Paul Wills, an assistant track section manager, told the hearing staff had to put up with "bully-boy" management.
The 11 jurors had heard how a subsequent Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) inquiry ruled the "immediate cause" of the crash was that the train had gone over a "degraded and unsafe" set of points, known as Lambrigg 2B.
One of three stretcher bars, which keep moving rails a set distance apart, was missing while the other two were fractured and bolts were missing.
