The Hatfield rail crash was a railway accident on 17 October 2000, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire

Hatfield, Hertfordshire

Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...

, UK. Although the accident killed fewer than other accidents, Hatfield exposed the major stewardship shortcomings of the privatised national railway infrastructure company Railtrack

Railtrack

Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...

 and the failings of the regulatory oversight which the company had had in its initial years (principally a failure to ensure that the company had a sound knowledge of the condition of its assets) and ultimately triggered its partial renationalisation.
A GNER InterCity 225

InterCity 225

The InterCity 225 is a locomotive-hauled domestic train in the United Kingdom, comprising a Class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark 4 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer...

 train bound for Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

 had left London King's Cross at 12:10, and was travelling at approximately 115 miles per hour (51.4 m/s) when it derailed south of Hatfield station

Hatfield railway station

Hatfield railway station serves the town of Hatfield in Hertfordshire, England. The station is managed by First Capital Connect.It is located approximately north of London Kings Cross on the East Coast Main Line.- History :...

 at 12:23.