Railtrack offers £12m to Potters Bar crash victims

Railtrack is to offer compensation to the victims of the Potters Bar rail crash, even though no blame has yet been allocated for the disaster.

Families of the seven who died are expected to receive up to £1m, depending on the circumstances, according to the Sunday Telegraph, with the remainder of a total of £12m distributed among the 67 who were injured.

A spokeswoman said Railtrack had decided that the families of those who died in the crash and those who were injured, had suffered enough distress and it was time to help them.

The Railtrack spokeswoman stressed that tomorrow’s announcement would not be an admission of liability. This crash was different to others because it was proving particularly difficult to establish who was to blame.

However, Railtrack had got together with Jarvis, the company responsible for maintaining the points that caused the crash, and the Strategic Rail Authority and agreed to take the lead in trying to alleviate the victims’ distress with a financial package.

“We say that the victims have had enough to deal with and it is time to help them. It’s the responsible thing to do,” the spokeswoman said.

Railtrack would be reimbursed if another company was found to be responsible.

Normally, no payments are made after an accident on the railways in which people are injured until the insurers for the companies responsible have accepted liability.

Railtrack will reportedly start paying out compensation immediately on claims as they are received.