Rail experts check points across UK

Safety experts in Britain are urgently checking hundreds of sets of points across the country in the wake of the Cumbria rail…

Safety experts in Britain are urgently checking hundreds of sets of points across the country in the wake of the Cumbria rail crash.

Up to 700 sets of points are being checked as a "precaution" following the crash, Network Rail said.

The move came after faulty points emerged as the likely cause of the latest crash which comes five years after defective points caused Britain's last major rail disaster at Potters Bar.

Seven people died and 76 were injured when poorly maintained points derailed a train at Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, in May 2002.

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As experts examined the points that the Virgin Trains Pendolino ran across at 90mph seconds before it derailed, Network Rail said engineers had already started the nationwide safety checks.

"As a precautionary measure we are beginning to check between 600 and 700 sets of points across the country," a spokesman said.

One passenger, Margaret Masson (84), from Glasgow, was killed and dozens more injured - 11 seriously - as the train rolled down an embankment near Kendal, Cumbria.

Police said it was "little short of a miracle" that more did not die.

Among those seriously injured were Mrs Masson's daughter Margaret Langley (61), and her husband Richard (63), of Southport, Merseyside, who were in the same carriage. They are said to be  in a very serious condition at the Royal Preston Hospital.

PA