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Potters Bar derailment: Report and Recommendations

Document Summary

The summary report by RSSB into the derailment of a passenger train at Potters Bar in 2002.

This document was published on 12th April 2005 by Railway Safety & Standards Board.

It was written by Railway Safety & Standards Board.

This item is linked to the Accident at Potters Bar on 10th May 2002

The original document format was PDF File, and comprised 4 pages.The original document can be found here.

This document was kindly sourced from Railway Safety & Standards Board and is in our Accident reports collection..

Copyright Information

This document is © Railway Safety & Standards Board.

"The panel's conclusions as to how the front stretcher bar came to be in its as-found state

From the evidence available, the panel has been unable to reach a clear conclusion as to how the front stretcher bar came to be in its as-found state. There are a number of aspects of the as-found state of the assembly for which, if they were the result of in-service deterioration, the panel either has no explanation, or one appears very unlikely. However, in considering whether human intervention could have left the bar in its as-found state, there are a number of issues that the panel has been unable to resolve, such as why an intervention might have taken place, when and by whom. The possibility of a malicious act cannot be ruled out, although the panel considers this to be highly unlikely.

The panel's conclusions as to the state of the rear stretcher bar assembly after the technicians' intervention on 1 May 2002

The panel is not able to reach a definitive conclusion as to the state of the rear stretcher bar assembly immediately after the technicians' intervention on 1 May 2002.

The panel cannot rule out a further intervention between 1 and 10 May 2002, although if such an event had taken place, it is unclear as to how this could have led to the appearance of the deposits in the threads and on the nuts, unless they were deliberately introduced. As in the case of the front stretcher bar, the panel cannot rule out the possibility of a malicious intervention, during which the threads and nuts were deliberately contaminated, but considers this to be extremely unlikely. "