Suicidal Railways

THE POINTS WERE 30 YEARS OLD

A 30-YEAR-OLD set of points was last night being blamed for the Cumbria train crash.

They are believed to have broken apart as the Virgin high-speed train thundered into them at 95mph, causing carriages to jump off the track.

Yesterday Network Rail, which maintains the railways, said the points were inspected at the beginning of the month and some maintenance work was carried out on the track there last week. It plans to check up to 700 more sets across the UK.

Investigators are believed to be looking at whether nuts and bolts on the points had come undone after there were reports of loose bolts found near the scene.

Experts believe the points broke under the weight of the train which caused the wheels to derail.

Rail expert Roy Bell, who maintained the points where the accident happened for 11 years until 1998, said: "I know that part of track like the back of my hand. It appears the points became loose because of either poor maintenance or mechanical failure. It's just like Potters Bar, when the points failed killing seven people, all over again."

John Armitt, chief executive of Network Rail, said: "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."

Last night Bob Crow of the RMT Union said: "We appear to have a carbon copy of Potters Bar where nuts and bolts came off at the points. Why haven't learned any lessons from that? It is beyond belief."

Safer Rides at a Theme Park or Fairground

It seems to me that no matter what, the government of the day will continue to lie to us about everything,especially when it comes to our safety.
Privatisation was supposed to make business responsible for our rail network and ensure our safety. It doesn't do that, it just takes the liability away from the politicians and lets them off the hook. We can't point a finger at them and ask why this has happened, they will just refer you to the Network Rail executives and say that an inquiry will be held in due course. Really, aren't we still waiting for the Potters Bar report, some years later?

If you want a thrilling ride with gut wrenching, terrifying experiences, then go visit a theme park or fairground, its much safer than the rail network and far cheaper.

So Whats Next, the National Health Service?

This is why Phoney Tony wants to privatise the NHS, so he can say its not his fault when people catch MRS and die in hospital, or you have to wait for over a year to be seen by a specialist.
Its the cowards way out, he hasn't got the balls to own up to anything that goes wrong under his leadership, the words 'I'm sorry' are impossible for him to actually express, he has a speech impediment along with a mental blockage that prevents him from uttering these words. Even if he did manage to achieve the impossible, it would lack conviction and sincerity.

IT IS NOW TIME FOR PHONEY TONY TO GO

He has overstayed his welcome and he should leave now and respect the will of the voters, otherwise Labour will continue to lose all its credibility and they can kiss goodbye to the next election.
One thing is certain, Gordon Brown isn't up to the job, he should face a challenge from someone who can show strong leadership and command the respect of the voters. No one on the cabinet past and present can really do any good other than foul up the whole mess, so it should be someone new, someone untainted by the Blair/Brown way of doing things and someone not afraid to retire Brown and replace him with a good chancellor who understands the needs of the voters.
As with Thatcher, it has come to the time when the people have had enough and demand a change, we are all tired of the same old rhetoric, the same evasive way they answer questions and WE ARE ALL TIRED OF HEARING BLAIR AND CO BLAME EVERYTHING ON THE CONSERVATIVES.
Too much water under the bridge for them to continue doing that now.