THE driver of the London-Glasgow express that crashed in Cumbria was yesterday hailed a “hero” for trying to keep control as it hurtled off the tracks at 90mph.

Iain Black, who is among the seriously injured, was praised by Sir Richard Branson, head of Virgin Trains, for his bravery in refusing to “desert the bridge”.

Black, 46, was last night in hospital in a serious condition with chest and neck injuries. The crash killed 84-year-old Margaret Masson, from Glasgow, who was travelling with her daughter and son-in-law. They are said to be in a “very serious” condition and are among 10 passengers still detained in hospital.

Some 111 passengers were on Friday’s 5.15pm Virgin service from London Euston to Glasgow Central when most of the nine carriages left the track at Grayrigg, near Kendal.

Crash investigators believe the Pendolino tilting train was derailed after passing over a set of points. The train, which was only a quarter full, came off the tracks at 8.16pm and plunged down a 30ft embankment. Such was the force of the impact that the locomotive jackknifed back onto the other carriages.

At that speed, the death toll would have been much higher with an older train. The £11m Pendolino trains are designed to withstand an impact three times higher than the required rail safety standard.

Branson, who broke off a skiing holiday in the Alps to visit the crash site, praised Black’s bravery. “Our driver did an extraordinary job,” he said.

“He could have got out of his seat and dashed to the next carriage. He came round the corner, the line was defective and the train went off the line. But he carried on sitting in his carriage for half a mile, running the train on stone. He wasn’t going to desert the bridge.”

The driver, a former civilian employee with British Transport police and father-of-one from Dumbarton, is expected to be in hospital for a month.

He was trapped in his cabin for more than an hour before firefighters cut him free.

Ian Garnett, watch manager with the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, said: “He was trapped in a foetal position and had cuts on his head. He also seemed to have a problem with his neck.”

Black went to school in Dumbarton and in a posting on the Friends Reunited website describes himself as separated with an 11-year-old daughter.

The assistant manager of the Stag’s Head in Dumbarton, Black’s local pub, said: “You could not meet a nicer man. He has the occasional drink in here but spends most of his time looking after his daughter.

“He is a hard-working guy. He has been working on the trains for a couple of years. This is obviously a very difficult time for his family.”

The crash is the first fatal rail passenger accident since a train hit a car on a level crossing at Ufton Nervet, Berkshire, in November 2004.

But it revives disturbing memories of the Potters Bar crash of 2002, when a train was derailed by a set of faulty points, killing seven. An investigation found bolts were missing from a track stretcher bar, which fractured, derailing the train.

Maintenance contractor Jarvis admitted joint liability but did not face charges and Network Rail took over responsibility for all track maintenance.

A Sunday Times reporter at the scene in Cumbria yesterday said at least three bolts appeared to be missing from a twisted plate fixed to the side of the rail. The plate was held in place by just one bolt.

According to other reports, four bolts from the points had been laid out neatly next to the track, possibly suggesting sabotage.

Rail expert Christian Wolmar said he understood that the points were in a similar condition to those involved in the Potters Bar crash. He said it was Network Rail’s responsibility to ensure the points were properly maintained and that “things like loose bolts and nuts, were tightened up regularly”.

“But there is also the possibility that these nuts and bolts were maintained in the wrong way, or not sufficiently maintained, and that’s why they were in that condition,” he added.

Maintenance work was carried out on the track earlier this month by Network Rail. The points, which are about 350 yards south of where the derailed train came to rest, were found to be in good working order during an inspection on February 11. However, Network Rail failed to carry out a more thorough inspection when it checked the track last weekend.

The points are not operated on a daily basis and are deployed to divert trains during engineering works. They were last used on February 15, according to the Rail, Maritme and Transport union.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the union, said: “There was a track inspection a few days ago and there were no problems. But all of a sudden the bolts are off.

“The reality is that after Potters Bar they have allowed a situation where nuts and bolts have fallen off. Nuts and bolts go on jumbo jets, they go on space ships. How come they don’t fall off? I can’t say if it’s sabotage, but management have to take the rap when it goes wrong.”

Up to 700 similar sets of points on high-speed lines, including 90 in Cumbria and Lancashire, are now to be inspected over the next few days to check for signs of fatigue and to ensure no nuts and bolts have come loose.

Chief Superintendent Martyn Ripley of the British Transport police said: “Our inquiries have led us to believe that a set of points could be significant.” It was a “miracle” that more people had not died, he added.

Crash survivors described chaotic scenes as the Virgin train came off the rails.

Graham Stewart, 28, an IT consultant from London, was air-lifted from the scene to Royal Preston hospital after suffering severe bruising.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he said: “I was watching a film on my laptop, when suddenly it flew off the table and my headphones were pulled out of my ears. The train shook violently, and I was flung around the carriage. Then there was silence and some screaming.

“People tried to smash the window to get out because the carriage was lying on its side. I just remember being very scared and thinking that that was it.”

Vanessa Robinson, 25, from Perth, Australia, said she was thrown from the train through a smashed window when her carriage rolled upside down.

“I heard a sudden thump. I thought the train was going to catch fire and I thought I was going to die. I felt a bump which threw me against the wall of the carriage,” said Robinson, who was travelling to Glasgow on holiday.

The first two carriages bore the brunt of the impact with some passengers trapped for up to three hours.

Margaret Jones, the granddaughter of Margaret Masson, said: “We are devastated by the death of our nan and about Mum and Dad being so very poorly. We are distraught but we are all here for our parents.”

Her parents, Margaret Langley, 61, and Richard Langley, 63, are in Royal Preston hospital. Masson, 84, a widowed mother-of-four, was travelling home to Glasgow after visiting family in Stockport, Greater Manchester.

- A train travelling from Pembroke to Swansea hit a car on a level crossing at Ffynnongain near St Clears in Carmarthenshire last night. No one was hurt.

Additional reporting: Graham Hind

Robust design saved lives

Experts believe the robust design of the Pendolino tilting trains helped reduce the number of casualties in Friday night’s crash. Capable of 125mph, they are built to withstand an impact three times in excess of the required railway safety standard.

Other features include crumple zones at the front and strengthened double-laminate glass windows, which mainly stayed intact in the Cumbria accident despite the fact that most of the carriages came off the track.

The Pendolinos, costing £11m each, are built by Alstom in Birmingham and were introduced to the West Coast main line by Virgin in July 2002.

They have a tilting mechanism that allows them to negotiate corners at high speed without making passengers uncomfortable. An on-board computer stops the trains tilting if they are going too fast, ensuring they do not exceed the speed limit on the line.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• UK regional accents thrive against the odds
• ‘Scarecrow’ wind farms put rare birds to flight
• What an anti-climax: G-spot is a myth