The operation to remove the wreckage of the Virgin train that derailed in Cumbria has begun.
The carriages have to be taken away before the West Coast Mainline - the major route between London and Glasgow - can fully re-open.
The operation will also enable forensic experts to begin examining the coaches for the first time.
All nine carriages came off the tracks when the 5.15pm London Euston to Glasgow train was derailed shortly after 8pm on Friday night. One passenger, 84-year-old Margaret "Peggy" Masson, died and 22 others were injured in the accident, which has been blamed on a faulty set of points.
On Wednesday one of the government's top rail bosses described the incident as "a tragedy that should not have happened". Railway Inspectorate chief Linda Williams made her comments as it was revealed Network Rail, the company responsible for rail infrastructure, is underspending its 2006-07 budget.
On Monday an interim report into the crash said the immediate cause of the derailment of the Pendolino train was points failure. That report prompted an "unreserved apology" from Network Rail boss John Armitt.
Two cranes have been set up at the scene - deep in the countryside away from major roads - to lift the first of the 50 ton coaches. Engineers also laid a temporary metal road to give access to area.
Chief Superintendent Martyn Ripley, the senior British Transport Police officer on site, told reporters: "We're now entering the final stages of the investigation on site."
Mr Ripley said the removal operation had been complicated by recent heavy rain softening the ground. He said: "We've had a lot of rain. We've been quite worried about the railway carriages and fearful that they might slip and slide. We're now happy they're stable."
The carriages were being placed on the ground before being righted and removed so that forensic teams can access them. Because of the way the carriages landed when they careered off the track it had been unsafe for anyone to enter them until now.
