Saturday, July 31, 2010

Railway Privatisation blamed for Potter’s Bar crash

From the Morning Star (Paddy McGuffin).

Rail unions have laid the blame for the 2002 Potter's Bar transport disaster firmly at the door of privateers skimping on maintenance and basic safety procedures.

A jury at the inquest into the fatal crash found that the incident had been caused by points failure caused by maintenance failings.

Six passengers were killed in the crash in Hertfordshire on May 10 2002. A seventh victim was walking nearby and died after being struck by debris.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "Basic failures of inspection and of maintenance, driven by the greed and fragmentation of rail privatisation, led us to Potters Bar. Those responsible for creating that lethal culture, the politicians and their business associates, will never share the pain of the victims of their gross mismanagement.

"They have escaped prosecution for their role in this avoidable disaster."
He said cuts being made on the railways "are dragging us back to exactly the same poisonous cocktail of conditions that led to Potters Bar."

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