THE daughter of a Scots pensioner who died in a train crash has spoken of her disgust at having to "contribute to" Network Rail's £4 million fine for causing the tragedy.

Margaret Masson's daughter Margaret Langley said it was "offensive" taxpayers such as herself would be contributing to the penalty as the rail infrastructure operator is publicly funded.

Her 84-year-old mother, of Cardonald, Glasgow, died in the February 2007 crash in Cumbria, which was caused by a faulty set of points.

Mrs Masson was on board the London Euston to Glasgow Central train as it derailed and plunged down an embankment while travelling at 95mph, leaving another 88 people injured.

Scots driver Iain Black, injured in the crash, was hailed a hero for staying at the controls to ensure the safety of passengers.

The fine was imposed by Mrs Justice Swift at Preston Crown Court. She also ordered the firm to pay costs of £118,037 after it admitted a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Solicitor Soyab Patel, speaking on behalf of Mrs Masson's family outside court, said: "The fine of £4 million together with costs will ultimately be borne by the taxpayer. Mrs Langley is a taxpayer. Her mother died in the crash. She and her husband suffered serious injuries. She finds it offensive she is contributing to the fine."

The immediate cause was a "degraded" set of points which should have been remedied in a weekly inspection days earlier.

Mrs Masson's inquest heard maintenance supervisors had complained of being overworked, under-staffed and not having the right tools or enough time to do their jobs.

Mrs Justice Swift said Network Rail had fallen "far short" of standards and there could have been a greater loss of life. She said she took into account that any fine would be paid from income which is "substantially derived from public funds and is likely to have the effect of reducing Network Rail's ability to generate profits which can be re-invested in the railway network, including maintenance and safety".

Last month Network Rail was fined £1m for safety breaches after the 2005 deaths of two schoolgirls at an Essex level crossing and paid a £3m fine last year for the Potters Bar disaster in 2002, which killed seven. The latter crash also involved safety breaches at a faulty set of points.

Network Rail chief executive Sir David Higgins said: "Nothing we can say or do will lessen the pain felt by Mrs Masson's family but we will make the railways safer and strive to prevent such an accident happening again.

"We have learnt from the accident, are determined to recognise what we got wrong and put it right.

"Since the accident, much has changed in the way we plan and carry out maintenance work, with new systems put in place to improve the quality and safety of our railway, which is why we now have one of the safest passenger railways in Europe."

However, Ian Prosser, director of railway safety at the Office of Rail Regulation, which brought the prosecution, said improvements were too slow at times.

He said: "Under Sir David Higgins's leadership, Network Rail is focused on driving safety measures and I welcome the company's progress on implementing safety recommendations made after this incident.

"But the pace of carrying out improvements has, at times, been too slow and the rail regulator has had to push the company to bring about change."

A Courts Service spokeswoman said the fine would ultimately go to the Treasury. The Office of Rail Regulation said the company would not be able to apply for Government funding to pay the fine. Unions said the fine would deprive the company of funds to invest in the network.