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date 19 October 2000 source Railtrack plc type Press release
The Railtrack Board met yesterday evening, 18th October, to consider such facts as are yet known about the Hatfield Disaster. The Board wishes to offer its deepest sympathy to the bereaved and injured.
It was decided that the information was sufficient to make a statement about the cause of the disaster. Its preliminary view is that a broken rail caused the derailment and that the condition of the rail, which was only 5 years old, was wholly unacceptable. The probable cause of the fracture was gauge corner cracking. The rail was due to be replaced in November. The replacement should have been in place sooner and this was Railtrack's responsibility.
The Board reviewed the actions already taken, such as speed restrictions, and considered the sufficiency of the immediate measure to protect the public in other parts of the network. These have been discussed with HMRI. They will be kept under continuous review but the timeframe of renewal of the network will also be accelerated.
The Board will be reviewing further information bout the disaster, as it becomes available.
The Board then considered whether or not to accept Gerald Corbett's offer to resign as Chief Executive.
The Board unanimously decided that the offer should not now be accepted because, Mr. Corbett is the person best qualified to lead the company in the search for all root causes of the disaster and the responses. Rail quality improvement has been led vigorously by Mr. Corbett and that effort must be followed through by the Company.
For more information please contact the Railtrack press office on 020 7557 8292.
All recent press releases can be found on the Railtrack web site www.railtrack.co.uk/corporate
Railnews Archive ::: 2000-10-19 RTK-001
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