Four people were killed and 33 injured yesterday when seven carriages of a high-speed London to Leeds Intercity train were derailed near Hatfield, in Hertfordshire, 20 miles north of London.
Police last night ruled out a terrorist explosion as the cause of the derailment. Hertfordshire Police Constable, Mr Paul Acres, said police had investigated the possibility that the derailment was caused by an explosion, but it had been ruled out as a cause. "There were early indications from witnesses that they heard the sound of an explosion which we now believe was the sound of the impact."
Earlier, police had investigated reports from passengers who heard a "big bang" before the derailment of the 12.10 p.m. Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) King's Cross to Leeds service which was travelling at 110 m.p.h.
Injuries to passengers and the dead were not consistent with an explosion and vandalism has not been ruled out as a possible cause, but Scotland Yard's antiterrorist squad had been called in to investigate the possibility of terrorist involvement. That decision was taken following a telephone bomb threat on Sunday in connection with the line between London and Peterborough. No devices were found and police said there was "nothing in the call" to indicate dissident republican involvement.
Earlier, the Assistant Chief Constable, Mr Paul Nicholas, confirmed Sunday's bomb threat on the London to Peterborough line: "Terrorism is always a possibility as well as vandalism . . . two days ago a threat was received on a line of railway between King's Cross and Peterborough and as a result of this we cannot rule out terrorism. Threats are made on a daily basis but very rarely end up with an incident."
Urgent inquiries by Railtrack (which owns the rail infrastructure), the Rail Inspectorate and the Health and Safety Executive were underway last night to establish the cause of the derailment which saw seven carriages toward the rear of the train, including passenger coaches and the buffet car, disconnect from the track as it turned into a right-hand bend travelling towards Hatfield at about 12.25 p.m. There were about 200 passengers on the train, which was left in two distinct pieces with the front carriages and the electric locomotive remaining upright and intact on the track and the rear carriages and debris strewn over a half-mile radius.
As eye-witnesses described seeing carriages being torn from the track and the roof of the buffet car being ripped off, injured passengers suffering from broken limbs, cuts and bruises and spinal injuries were treated at the Queen Elizabeth II hospital in Welwyn Garden City and the Lister hospital in Stevenage.
The Transport Minister, Lord Macdonald, visiting the scene, offered his condolences to the families and friends of those killed and said he had asked the HSE to provide an "urgent report" into the incident. The Conservative leader, Mr William Hague, also extended his sympathies to the injured and relatives of those who died.
One of the crucial tasks of the rail investigations will be to discover the cause of the crash as speculation focused on several possibilities, including debris deliberately placed on the track, a possible fault with the train or problems with the train's wheels or axle. Up to 55 per cent of train incidents last year were caused by debris placed on the tracks and railway lines receive bomb threats almost on a daily basis.
One of the passengers on the train, Belfast businessman, Mr Mike O'Neill, told BBC R5 that he heard windows explode and then after some time the train came to a halt: "There was dust and smoke filling the carriage. We had to smash an emergency window to get out of the carriage . . . there were carriages ripped off the track and one had the roof taken off."