Greed and incompetence are emerging as major reasons for the Paddington rail disaster. Less than a week after the tragedy, we can be all but certain that the trains collided because one of the drivers went through a red light. But the root cause lies in a system that places the pursuit of profit above human life.

We now know that trains pass through red lights with chilling regularity. Railtrack has drawn up a list of the 22 signals that have been passed at danger most often. Topping the list is one in South Yorkshire, passed at red fully 16 times; another is at York Station.

A leaked document today reveals that eleven signal and track failures have been recorded on Britain's railway since the Paddington crash. And some of the carriages which crumpled so easily on impact were, we learn, salvaged from the Southall rail disaster.

The picture that is emerging is not just that this was an accident waiting to happen; but this was an accident that might have happened almost anywhere on the network, involving almost any rail passenger.

The loss of life in London is a terrible indictment of rail privatisation. After the Clapham disaster ten years ago, the Hidden report recommended the installation of automatic train protection. That system would have prevented last Tuesday's accident. But, in the rush to sell-off the railways, this extra expense was somehow forgotten.

And while many rail managers enjoyed instant and unmerited riches thanks to the network being flogged off cheaply, the passengers fared less well. Suddenly their right to safe transport was the responsibility of Railtrack. But Railtrack, as a profit-making body, also had a responsibility to its shareholders. This was an insoluble conflict of interests; we are now all too unhappily aware how the company allocated its priorities.

Railtrack has been relieved of its safety responsibilities by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. Tony Blair also met with rail chiefs at the weekend. This is a reassuringly swift response to the crash, and suggests that this administration may learn the lessons ignored by its predecessors after Clapham and Southall.

However, it is vital that the momentum for improvement is not lost as the story fades from the headlines. We have twice before in recent memory ignored the urgent need for a total overhaul of Britain's rail safety. It is time Britain's railway companies were compelled to value human life higher than their bosses' share options.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.