Survivors of the Paddington Rail crash could mount a High Court challenge to the decision not to bring criminal charges over the tragedy in which 31 people died.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the case clearly revealed "a history of corporate failings" but said the evidence was insufficient to prosecute any person or company for manslaughter or gross negligence.

But Railtrack, presently in administration, and Thames Trains, whose driver went through a red light before the crash, could still face prosecution under health and safety laws.

Oxfordshire survivors were not surprised that there would be no criminal charges.

But solicitor Louise Christian, the daughter of former Lord Mayor of Oxford Maureen Christian, who represents most of those bereaved in the crash, said her clients were devastated by the CPS decision. She is now considering a legal challenge in the High Court.

Father-of-two Anthony Beeton, 47, of Wheatfields, Didcot, was among those who died when a Thames Turbo train went through a red light and crashed into a Great Western express at Ladbroke Grove, near Paddington, on October 5, 1999.

The next day, the Oxford Mail mounted a campaign for a new law to allow charges of corporate manslaughter to be brought. Nothing has yet been done.

Survivor David Taylor, a computer expert, of Abingdon Road, Didcot, said today: "The CPS decision has not surprised me. I have never believed any action would have been taken by the CPS.

"Efforts would be better spent in ensuring that such accidents, which are highly preventable, never happen again.

Tony Jasper, 49, of Ashfields Close, East Hanney, near Wantage, who won a bravery award for saving 40 people from the burning wreckage, said: "Charges must be brought. It is just a matter what charges can be made to stick.

"There was clear criminal incompetence and clear guilt which has caused the deaths of 31 people. What I will be doing as a survivor will be to ensure that the Health and Safety Executive brings full pressure to bear on those in the rail industry who were charged with our safety.

"There was negligence in the training of the driver, Michael Hodder, and the conduct of those in the Slough signal box who took a wait-and-see stance when confronted with the train going through the red light.

"Railtrack has been fined millions of pounds for allowing the trains to run late, not a penny for killing so many people. They should not be allowed to get away with it."

Another survivor Bruce Creed, of Cumnor Hill, Oxford, said he had concluded that the CPS decision was understandable.

He said: "The CPS has written to the survivors and explained quite thoroughly why no action is being taken. The communication is very good. It is impossible in such complex situations to lay blame at any one individual's door. The concept of corporate manslaughter is very difficult and complex."

A Railtrack spokesman said: "Railtrack will never forget the Paddington accident, and the question of whether prosecutions were going to be issued or not has not stopped us from learning our lessons. This work continues."

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said a decision on a prosecution under health and safety laws would be made soon.