Related news

Two rail workers have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with a fatal rail crash in Cumbria on 15 November 2007. An initial report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) blamed a faulty set of points for the crash. A later report by Network Rail, released in September, found systematic failures in track patrolling and management.

The 64-year-old man has been released on police bail pending further enquiries until 26 March. The 60-year-old is still in custody and is expected to be released. A Network Rail employee from Preston, arrested in July in connection with the incident, remains on police bail until 26 March.

The preliminary RAIB investigation reported that the last scheduled inspection of the points, known as Lambrigg 2B, on February 18, had not taken place. Another failure occurred after loose bolts were found on the Lambrigg 2B points more than six weeks before the accident. They were replaced, but the cause of the problem was never investigated. In later weeks, trains passing over the points dislodged the bolts again, causing the stretcher bars separating two sets of track to come under pressure, the report found.

John Pickering Head of Personal Injury at law firm Irwin Mitchell, who is representing victims of the crash said We await the full details of these arrests, and hope that all measures are being taken to find out what happened to ensure nothing like this happens again.

Investigations are still on-going.

If you or someone you know has been affected by the crash please fill in our online claims form for free advice from one of our expert lawyers.