A SURVIVOR of one of the country's worst rail disaster's last night urged the Government to take responsibility for rail safety.

In an exclusive interview with The Northern Echo, Pam Warren, who suffered horrific burns in the Paddington rail disaster, said there had been promises to improve rail safety but, so far, little action.

Mrs Warren of Reading, Berkshire, was speaking as she backed The Northern Echo's Scandal of the Railway Bridges campaign.

The courageous 35-year-old became a symbol of the suffering endured in the Paddington crash in October, 1999, after wearing a protective mask for 15 months.

Yesterday, only days before the anniversary of the Selby rail crash, Mrs Warren called on the Government to "renationalise responsibility" for the railways.

"We're talking about people's lives," she said. "We're supposed to be one of the G8 countries and have all this power and respect and yet we can't even get something as simple as travelling around the breadth of our country sorted out."

Mrs Warren said she would not consider getting back on a train until safety had vastly improved.

Speaking about The Northern Echo's campaign to improve the safety of railway bridges, she said: "There are people sitting around a table arguing as to who is responsible for making these bridges safer. It just proves the apathy that there is.

"I would say, get the bridges safe first and then sit down and argue who pays for what.

"The state of the bridges is really third world. If people like us and The Northern Echo don't speak out, then it will just get worse.

"I really wish The Northern Echo the best with its campaign."

Taking on the trains - Page 8