Defective line to blame for train crash, says Branson

Virgin Trains boss Richard Branson said today that the cause of the Cumbrian train crash in England was a defective line.

One woman died and 12 passengers were seriously injured when the intercity train derailed at around 8.10pm yesterday.

Speaking to reporters at the scene in Grayrigg, Branson praised the bravery of driver and former policeman Ian Black.

"The driver Ian Black came around the corner, the line was defective and the train went off the line," he said.

"But he carried on sitting in his carriage for half a mile, running the train on the stone. He could have tried to get back and protect himself but he didn't and he has ended up quite badly injured."

Branson hailed the driver Mr Black as a "hero" for his actions after the train came off the tracks.

"He is a definitely a hero," he said. "In the sober light of day we will have to see if he can be recognised as such."

The Virgin boss added that he was almost 100% certain that the train - which he said was built "like a tank" - was safe.

"If it turns out to be a Network Rail track issue then they simply have to learn from this and to make sure that it never happens again," he said.

He added that the train itself had been checked at 1pm earlier in the day and no problems had been found.

The chief executive of Network Rail, John Armitt, said that there was a possibility that something had "gone wrong" under the company's watch.

"At the moment the attention is on a set of points," he said.

"The points simply allow the train to move from one set of tracks to another. If there is a defect in the points it can cause the train to derail.

"A points failure can be due to various causes. I have to live with the reality that it could be something that has gone wrong on our watch."