Railtrack, the company which regulates safety on Britain's rail network, was preparing to be stripped of its powers yesterday as accusations of negligence and dishonesty swept through the media.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr John Prescott, has sent in a "hit-squad" of inspectors to review the company's safety procedures, as grief continues to turn to anger in the wake of the Paddington rail disaster.
Announcing the investigation, Mr Prescott also disclosed he had just received a Health and Safety Commission report on Railtrack's safety procedures which he ordered last year. The report raises a number of issues regarding the company's activities, including concern over a "conflict of interest" between its financial goals and safety standards.
In an interview with the BBC's On The Record programme, Mr Prescott said: "We do think there's a conflict of interest here. We always said that this kind of organisation of the railway would lead to a blame culture."
It is expected that the new Transport Bill will include legislation stripping Railtrack of the powers concerned. It has not yet been established whether these responsibilities will be taken on by a new body or be assimilated by the Health and Safety Executive.
Railtrack has said it will not oppose the move.
It is hoped that the discovery of the black box data recorder from the Thames Train may help to explain why it jumped two yellow warning lights and a red stop light just before the collision.
The revelation that some of the carriages of the First Great Western train were "cannibalised" from rolling-stock involved in the Southall crash two years ago has also been feeding the controversy. As the debate over the "hows and whys" of the disaster continues to rage, 26 survivors remain at five hospitals around London. Of the 26, seven are in intensive care and a further nine are in specialist burns units.
Although 64 people are still unaccounted for, police now believe the final death toll may be no higher than 40. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Mr Andy Trotter said the number of passengers unaccounted for had fallen significantly.
Teams of pathologists carrying out an intensive search of Carriage H yesterday found one body, but police said forensic experts would have to establish whether it was that of an additional victim to the 30 bodies already recovered.
Mr Trotter said the temperature inside the carriage had been a lot lower than was originally expected. Many documents and personal possessions survived the heat. So far, 30 bodies have been recovered and 21 of the dead have been formally named.
Church leaders held special services in Ladbroke Grove and around Britain in remembrance of the dead yesterday. As the sea of flowers around the scene of the accident grew, 2,000 people took part in an open-air service led by Bishop Michael Coilclough of Kensington in the Sainsbury's carpark overlooking the crash scene.