THE judge in charge of the inquest into the Potters Bar derailment, which is now in its third day, has questioned whether reports of 'rough riding' are taken seriously enough.

Seven people were killed when a West Anglia Great Northern train to King's Lynn was derailed at points on the approach to the station in May 2002.

Part of the train mounted the platform and one coach came to rest on its side, wedged under the canopy.

Judge Michael Baker QC, who is sitting as assistant deputy coroner at the hearing in Letchworth, has heard evidence that one report of rough riding over the same points not long before the crash had been 'forgotten', another had been 'misinterpreted' and a third, which was made to a train manager, had not been passed on.

He commented: “It is necessary to look at the procedures for reporting rough rides – is reporting of rough rides taken sufficiently seriously?”

He also suggested that the procedures for reporting rough riding might still not be good enough, even though the Potters Bar derailment was eight years ago.

Meanwhile the inquest, which could run for up to three months according to some reports, will examine the issues surrounding the crash, including the relationship between track maintenance contractor Jarvis and Railtrack, which had been placed in Railway Administration the previous autumn but was not replaced by Network Rail until later in 2002.

It has also heard evidence that the driver of the train had said: 'We have lost everything ... we are off the rails'. The way the train was being driven when the derailment occurred has not been called into question.