Man arrested over fatal Cumbria train crash: police

July 15, 2007 - 0:0

LONDON (AFP) -- A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter due to negligence after a rail crash in north-west England that left one woman dead and more than 70 injured, police said on Friday.

The unnamed man, an employee of Network Rail, the company that owns Britain's rail infrastructure, was arrested on Wednesday and released on bail until October 31, British Transport Police (BTP) said. Asked under what terms he was arrested, a BTP spokesman said: "It was manslaughter due to negligence." The crash on the evening of February 23 saw a Virgin Trains service from London Euston to Glasgow Central in Scotland derail on a remote stretch of track near Penrith, in Cumbria, northern England. An 84-year-old woman died but further disaster was averted by the train driver, who stayed at the Pendolino train's controls during the high-speed crash at 95 miles (155 kilometers) per hour. Police said it was a near "miracle" that there were not more deaths. The West Coast Main Line linking the British capital with Scotland was closed for about a week after the crash