FRESH calls were made last night for the railways to be returned to the public sector after faulty maintenance caused the derailment of an express train.

Troubled engineering firm Jarvis Rail - the company at the centre of the investigation into last year's crash at Potters Bar which killed seven people - has admitted blame for yesterday's accident at London's King's Cross station.

The front two carriages of the 0700 GNER service to Glasgow slipped off the tracks at 10mph despite attempts by the driver to stop when he spotted that points had not been reset correctly.

The carriages stayed upright and no one was hurt, but the derailment caused rush-hour chaos and seriously affected parts of the UK's rail network, including delays to East Coast Mainline services to and from the North-East and North Yorkshire.

Engineers from Jarvis had been carrying out overnight maintenance work on the stretch of track where the derailment happened.

The company, which has started an investigation, admitted the points should have been left so trains would continue straight ahead, but staff had "omitted to make the final disconnection".

The derailment happened as preparations were being made for a ceremony to officially open the first section of the high-speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling called it "totally unacceptable" but refused to speculate on what action would be taken until Network Rail had investigated.

But Stan Herschell, the North-East regional organiser for the Rail Maritime and Transport union, called for all rail maintenance and train operations to be nationalised. He said: "Let's have everything back in control of the state - publicly owned and publicly accountable.

"Thankfully no one was hurt but it gives real cause for concern that jobs can be left in such a state."

Union general secretary Bob Crow said: "Once again the safety of our railways in private hands has been brought into question.

"How many more incidents like this do we need before the Government bows to the inevitable and brings control of our railways back into the public sector where it belongs?

"The private sector has failed the railways and everyone knows it."

Six platforms were closed after the accident, and an emergency timetable was put in place. By early afternoon the full number of trains were running to and from the North-East but with delays of up to and hour and a half.

A statement issued by Jarvis Rail said: "Investigations are still under way. Jarvis has informed Network Rail of its preliminary findings and is currently working with Network Rail to ensure swift restoration of normal services."

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "This is the latest in a long line of question marks next to the performance of Jarvis.

"Jarvis must explain why it has presided over such an appalling history of serious errors and catastrophes on the rail system.

"Given the company's record of failure, the question must now be asked as to whether Jarvis should be allowed to continue to operate on any part of the rail network."

Rail unions reacted with anger in June when Jarvis was named as the preferred bidder to replace track in the London North-East region - which includes Potters Bar in Hertfordshire.

In the aftermath of last year's crash there, when a train derailed at a set of points, Jarvis suggested sabotage might have been involved.

But the Health and Safety Executive has found no evidence of vandalism and suggested the points which failed were poorly maintained.

Earlier this month, the company was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £2,500 costs after two rail workers were electrocuted near York when a crane jib hit overhead power lines.

Comment - Page 10