The enquiry into the accident, which led to one death and several injuries, has discovered documents used for recording trackside checks and the overall responsibility for engineering works were incomplete.
Safety campaigners have raised fears that the lessons of the Potters Bar crash, which cost seven lives, have not been learned.
Responding to the initial finding of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, Network Rail Chief Executive, John Armitt said: “Network Rail is devastated to conclude that the condition of the set of points at Grayrigg caused this terrible accident. We accept the RAIB report in all respects. We would like to apologise to all the people affected by the failure of the infrastructure.
“We now need to understand how the points came to be in this condition – and we will leave no stone unturned in our search for the facts behind this derailment. We will continue to co-operate fully with the investigators as they work towards more detailed conclusions. When more detailed findings are available, we will consider them carefully, and learn any lessons that need to be learned. We will also, at that time, consider any action that might need to be taken as a result.
“Passengers should be reassured that we have carried out extensive checks of similar points across the rail network. Over the weekend, more than 700 special inspections took place, and nothing out of the ordinary was found. Our key priority is to run a safe railway. Despite this terrible tragedy, it is worth remembering that the railway is safer than it has ever been before, and remains the safest form of transport in the UK. We again extend our sympathies to the family and friends of Margaret Masson, who died as a result of the incident, and to those who were injured and shaken. We would also like, again, to thank the emergency services who worked heroically on that difficult evening.”