NETWORK Rail and maintenance firm Jarvis Rail are due to appear before magistrates today (Monday) to face health and safety charges over the Potters Bar rail crash.

The case, brought by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), will start at West Herts Magistrates’ Court in Watford.

The prosecutions follow the conclusion of the inquest and ORR’s investigation into the derailment on May 10, 2002, in which seven people were killed.

Jarvis Rail was the contractor for the section of track where the train derailed after a points failure.

Overall responsibility for the track rested with Railtrack, whose functions were taken over by Network Rail in October 2002.

The charges, over alleged safety breaches, have been brought under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.