Virgin boss Richard Branson has claimed a defective track was to blame for a high-speed train accident in northern England last night which killed an elderly woman and seriously injured five other people.
The state-of-the-art Virgin Pendolino tilting train, heading from London to Glasgow, derailed at 95 mph (150 kph) shortly after 8.00pm in a remote area of Cumbria, scattering carriages down the side of a steep embankment.
Accident investigators examine the wreckage of the cab following a train crash on a Virgin high speed train in northern England
"I've been told the line was defective," Mr Branson, the chairman of Virgin Group, told reporters. "I've been told that it was the points that failed."
He praised the train's driver and emergency workers who battled difficult conditions, including torrential rain, to reach around 100 passengers, some of whom were trapped in the overturned carriages.
Officials later said an 80-year-old woman died and 22 people were injured, including five who were seriously hurt.
Police said it was "little short of a miracle" there had not been more deaths.
"We are amazed that we didn't have fatalities actually at the time. We've been very, very fortunate," said Chief Superintendent Martyn Ripley of British Transport Police.
Rail accident investigator Thomas Edwards said their inquiry would concentrate on a set of points.
"Having a set of points immediately prior to an accident always makes those points very suspect, and given the information we have ... that's the focus of attention," said John Armitt, the chief executive of track operator Network Rail.
"There is a possibility that it has been something which has occurred which Network Rail is responsible for. I hope that's not the case, but I have to live with the reality that it could be something which has gone wrong under our watch."
Police had earlier said routine maintenance work had been carried out on the track during the previous week.
The crash is the latest to hit Britain's railways. In 2002, seven passengers died in a derailment at Potters Bar, while two years earlier four people were killed in a derailment at Hatfield.
The worst accident to occur in recent years happened in 1999 when two trains collided near Paddington station, killing 31.