TAKING rail managers to court over the Hatfield train disaster will serve no purpose, says a Huddersfield-based campaign group.
A group of six rail managers are due to stand trial for manslaughter.
Four people died and dozens were injured in the October, 2000, crash, caused by a broken rail, when a high-speed train derailed south of Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
The decision to take court action against the managers has been criticised by the Association of Community-Rail Partnerships.
Its general manager, Dr Paul Salveson, of Golcar, said: "We don't see how dragging committed railwaymen with decades of experience through the courts - in the full glare of media publicity - is going to improve railway safety.
"To try to pin the blame for Hatfield on any individual is folly.
"The only result of this costly action will be to demoralise experienced railway managers and deter bright, well-qualified people from entering the industry.
"It will also perpetuate a myth that railways are unsafe."
The managers are unlikely to face trial until September next year.
The case will be heard in front of a jury.
