THE firm responsible for maintaining miles of British railway track yesterday announced massive profits for the financial year in which the Potters Bar train disaster occurred.

Infrastructure firm Jarvis said the crash had cast a shadow over 12 months of otherwise good trading and occurred when track maintenance was at the forefront of passengers' minds.

Jarvis was responsible for maintaining the section of railway line where seven people died when a train derailed on a set of points.

Investigations into the accident are still ongoing, although a Health and Safety Executive report last month questioned the competence of some Jarvis staff.

Profits at the company rose 37 per cent to £62.7m.

Turnover from all Jarvis' businesses increased 28 per cent to £1.22bn in the period to March 31.

Yesterday's figures show the company's rail business increased turnover by 28 per cent to £599.6m, with operating profits of £44.5m, up from £32.4m last time.

Jarvis said the year had been "sadly overshadowed" by the events at Potters Bar in May last year, saying the ongoing investigation meant it was not able to make any further comment about the incident.

At the time of last month's report, Jarvis said that it was still uncertain about what caused the points failure. It said it had maintained the points in accordance with long-established industry procedures.

Commenting on the results, Paris Moayedi, Jarvis chairman, said the year had seen a strong operational performance from the company's core businesses covering transport, education and health.

He said: "Our commitment to helping government improve public services and infrastructure - in health, transport, schools and universities - has never wavered. We have continued to help to make public sector money go further, by introducing economies and best value."

The group also forms one-third of the consortium working to modernise the London Underground.

Jarvis reaped a better-than-expected £3.2m in the three months of the contract to March 31, and said profits in this financial year would be £13m rather than the £8m expected.

A spokesman said the improvement was due to higher margins but the overall benefit across the life of the contract remained unchanged.