Richard Branson is getting in first in the wake of Friday’s train crash:
Sir Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin, yesterday blamed a points failure for last week’s fatal train crash in Cumbria and demanded action on the ageing railways to prevent a repeat disaster.
Richard Branson may well be proved correct. However, as we haven’t heard the outcomes of the inquiry, such statements are premature to say the least.
Network Rail announced last night that safety checks on up to 700 sets of points across the network were already under way ‘as a precautionary measure’ and should be complete within 24 hours. The tests are being carried out on high-speed rail lines on older tracks where trains travel above 85 miles per hour.
This is a reasonable precaution. However, I hope that Network Rail do not emulate the over-reaction that led to Railtrack’s demise in the wake of the gauge corner cracking responsible for the Hatfield derailment. In that instance, we saw miles upon miles of track with unnecessary speed restrictions and a fatal paralysis at board level.
It may prove to be the same type of failure that happened at Potters Bar. It may. Then again, it may not. Shall we all refrain from jumping to conclusions?