UK: TRAIN CRASH UPDATE скачать в хорошем качестве

UK: TRAIN CRASH UPDATE

(18 Oct 2000) English/Nat The man in charge of maintaining Britain's railways tendered his resignation on Wednesday, 24 hours after a train came off the rails at Hatfield, killing four passengers. Railtrack chief executive Gerald Corbett's offer to resign came on a day when it was revealed that Railtrack was already facing an independent examination of its record on dealing with broken rails before the Hatfield train crash. Investigators now believe a broken rail may have caused the tragedy. The derailment of the high-speed train north of London was the latest in a long series of disasters to strike the national rail network. SUGGESTED VOICEOVER As morning broke over the scene of the disaster, investigators fanned out across the wreckage and combed the site for clues. The train was running at well over 100 miles per hour when it came off the rails, hitting the ground with such force that carriages were ripped clear of their wheel mountings. Most of the casualties were in the buffet car which had its roof torn off. Government safety chiefs believe a broken rail may have been the cause, although they're keeping an open mind. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We don't know at this stage. Obviously the cause of the derailment could be down to all sorts of things. As people so rightly say, it could be vandalism, it could be the state of the track, it could be the state of the vehicles themselves." SUPERCAPTION: Stanley Hart, Health and Safety Executive The accident happened on the line between London and the northern city of Leeds, run by Great North Eastern Railway. The company admitted it was another massive blow to public confidence in Britain's rail system, already shaken by a string of previous disasters. SOUNDBITE: (English) "There is a horrific problem about rail safety. When all is said and done, you look at the statistics and rail travel is incredibly safe. But that is of no comfort to people. Four people died on our train yesterday. That is horrific. We had six people kept in hospital overnight. Two of them were our staff. We, the industry, have got to improve our safety, and that work is going on. The railways are getting safer. Yes. this accident was a terrible tragedy. We must not let up. We must improve our performance." SUPERCAPTION: Christopher Garnett, Chief Executive, Great North Eastern Railway Britain's train system gets far less state aid than many other European rail networks, and critics say this may be partly to blame for the rash of disasters over the past decade. But the government denies this, saying passenger safety remains its top priority. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...