Crane lifts crash carriage

Engineers today began moving the rail carriage which crashed into Potters Bar station.

Two straps were attached to the passenger carriage and a crane was being used to raise it up a few feet in the air and slowly move it across the station, away from where it ended up following Friday’s accident.

The two roof canopies above the platform which the carriage became wedged under remained intact.

A Railtrack spokeswomen said: ‘‘The engineers are going to try and slide it across the platform and search it before it can be lifted away from the scene.’’

It is planned that the carriage will be manoeuvred on to a platform and stabilised so British Transport Police and the Health and Safety Executive can carry out a search inside for the personal items belonging to passengers.

Strong winds are likely to hamper any efforts to remove the train from the scene and lift it over overhead power cables on to a low loader.