Network Rail today admitted breaching health and safety laws at a level crossing where two teenage girls were killed.
Olivia Bazlinton, 14, and Charlotte Thompson, 13, were hit by a train in 2005 as they crossed the tracks at Elsenham station footpath crossing in Essex.
Today Network Rail indicated guilty pleas to three charges under the health and safety act at Basildon Magistrates’ Court and was committed for sentencing.
Olivia’s father Chris Bazlinton said the move "proves that we have been lied to over the years".
He went on: "I have no doubt Network Rail will change its procedures to ensure that action is taken when problems arise, and to avoid a cover-up happening again.
"But I think this should be transparent and open. I want to know what they are going to do to change the way they report on accidents and how they account for them.
"And above all, we shall be watching closely to make sure that the changes Network Rail has promised to improve level crossing safety are carried out.
"Visions and plans are all very well, but it is putting them in place that matters."
Olivia and Charlotte were killed on December 3, 2005, as they crossed a footpath leading to Elsenham station platform. The crossing was fitted with warning lights and yodel alarms.
A London to Cambridge train passed over the crossing with the red lights and yodel sounding - a warning for foot passengers not to cross.
After the train passed, the lights remained on and the alarms continued to sound as another train, travelling from Birmingham to Stansted Airport in Essex, was going to pass through the station.
The girls opened the unlocked wicket gates and walked on to the crossing. They were both struck by the Stansted train and killed.
In November last year, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) announced that it would prosecute Network Rail over those deaths after reopening its investigation into the accident.
The move came after the Transport Salaried Staffs Association joined the girls’ families in demanding a public inquiry amid claims that two safety documents were not disclosed to the Essex Coroner at the 2007 inquest into the deaths.
Network Rail said it would plead guilty to failing to carry out a sufficient risk assessment, failing to properly control protective measures at the level crossing and failing to prevent the girls from being exposed to the risks which led to their deaths.
The company will be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on March 15.
Outside court, Reg Thompson, Charlotte’s father, said: "The horror of that day is always with us and the huge hole in our lives left by Charlie will never be filled.
"In the aftermath of the accident, Network Rail claimed the girls had acted recklessly and that somehow their youthful exuberance led directly to their deaths.
"I never believed that they were the architects of their own terrible end. It has taken six years to reveal the truth of what happened."
Today’s court hearing comes after 15-year-old Katie Littlewood was hit by a train at Johnson’s Footpath Crossing in Bishop’s Stortford on Saturday.
Her death, which is being treated as a "tragic accident" by both Network Rail and British Transport Police (BTP), occurred just a few miles down the same stretch of track where Olivia and Charlotte were killed six years ago.
Network Rail said investigations were carried out on the crossing immediately after the 11.45am incident and showed no faults with the safety measures in place.
