The crash was Turkey's worst rail disaster

Turkish television said the men were accused of negligence after the train derailed between Istanbul and Ankara.

Turkey's transport minister said the train had exceeded the speed limit, but a lawyer for the three said they had been told to drive it even faster.

Workers' unions said the train was put into service on substandard tracks.

Speed dispute

Turkish NTV said Koksal Coskun, who was in charge of the train, and drivers Fikret Karabulut and Recep Sonmez, were charged with negligence and carelessness.

In Pictures: Crash aftermath

The packed express derailed near the town of Pamukova, in north-west Turkey, at 1945 local time (1645 GMT) on Thursday.

The government crisis centre initially put the death toll at 139 - but later revised the figures downwards.

Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said the train was travelling at 38km/h (23 mph) over the speed limit of 80km/h when it came off the rails.

But the accused men's lawyer, Ismail Gurses, said railroad authorities had ordered the train's crew to drive even faster at 130km/h, according to Anatolia news agency.

Rail 'inadequate'

Turkish media and union officials accused the government of a cover-up, saying the train was put into service on ageing tracks.

"They're blaming personnel, saying high speed isn't allowed in the place of the accident," said Yavuz Zegerek, head of the Hur Anadolu transport trade union.

But, he said, "it's not possible to reach the destination in five hours without turning the existing rules inside out".

The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met senior officials on Friday night to discuss the crash.