10 years on - MP reflects on Grayrigg train crash
10 years on from the Grayrigg Train Crash, South Lakes MP Tim Farron reflects on this tragic incident which cost one passenger her life and stunned the local community.
Margaret Masson, 84, from Glasgow, died after the Virgin train derailed on the West Coast Main Line on the 23rd February 2007, while more than 80 others were injured. The train had been travelling at 95mph and had hit a 'degraded and unsafe' set of points.
Tim said: "I remember visiting the site after the crash to see the train carriages strewn across the farmland and experience for myself the overnight springing up of a temporary village of salvage workers, engineers, accident investigators, representatives of Virgin, Network rail and the government and of course the world's media. This was an incident that made it to the top item on the national news and hit headlines around the world - but in the end, it was a personal tragedy that cost a family a mother and a grandmother, left many more injured and traumatised and shocked the local community.
"The immense bravery and compassion of the emergency services, including the volunteers of the mountain rescue, really sticks in my memory. The generosity and kindness of the people of Grayrigg to the victims and the many workers who arrived to clear the scene and restore the track afterwards also lives with me. The crash was a shocking event that cost one life and changed many others - we should take time to remember Mrs Masson who lost her life, and all those injured and traumatised by the disaster."