A COMPANY boss has spoken of his sadness after learning the train he helped build was in the fatal Cumbrian crash.

Tony Davies, 46, was the managing director of Engineering and Glass-fibre Developments (EGD) in Walverden Park Works, Nelson, which went into administration in 2005.

And Mr Davies, now managing director of Burnley-based AllScope Projects, which is made up of 16 ex-EGD staff, revealed how the former company was among the sub-contractors who helped build the Virgin Pendolino tilting train which derailed in Grayrigg, approximately five miles north of Kendal on Friday night.

An 84-year-old woman died from Glasgow died in the incident which is being blamed on defective points.

The Nelson company, supplied glass fibre components to industry for over 40 years and Mr Davies confirmed the company was responsible for providing internal fittings for the train in a contract which ironically played a small part in the 90 strong EGD workforce's downfall.

Mr Davies from Barrowford said: "Our role really was to supply what you would call internal fittings.

"These were purely cosmetic, such as the casing for emergency pull levers, bits of cupboard doors.

"EGD also made the mouldings at the end of the cab to go round hydraulic pipes between the carriages as well as aerodynamic farings for the train's air conditioning unit.

"I was very sad to hear about the crash, which it seems is nothing to do with the train itself."

He said his new firm which offers technical support and supplies glass fibre products to industry from its base in Rossendale Road Industrial Estate, Burnley, was "a growing company."

One area where the company, founded in 2005, is thriving is a move into the furniture market.

It launched a series of products for the domestic market last September and now plans to expand and supply furniture into the bespoke industry such as hotels and bars.

l An interim report by the The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has found that a key component of the points at the centre of the fatal Cumbria rail crash was missing.

The report states that the points - at the crossover known as Lambrigg - "were the immediate cause of the derailment".