A Colchester engineer is the man in charge of trying to get the Tube back on track.

London Underground chief engineer Keith Beattie is currently involved in getting the London Underground (LU) back to normal following the derailing incident that left 32 people injured at the weekend.

After the derailing at Chancery Lane, both the Central and Waterloo and City lines were closed for investigations into the accident.

Mr Beattie's department, the chief engineer's directorate, is responsible for ensuring assets and systems, such as tunnels and tracks, are maintained to appropriate standards.

His team is separate to the underground's Safety and Quality Directorate which oversees the condition of trains.

Jan O'Neill, LU spokeswoman, said he had been decorated in this year's New Year's Honours List.

She added he was unable to speak to the media at the present time because of the urgent and major tasks currently facing him.

She said: "Mr Beattie is responsible for the safety of our assets, which includes tracks and tunnels, rather than the trains. At the moment it is all hands to the pump."

Published Wednesday, January 29, 2003

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