Communist Web
Sunday 12th March 2000 9.30pm gmt
Britain: Outrage at rail safety
U-turn
by Daphne Liddle
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is facing a public outcry after backing
down on his pledge, made in the wake of the Paddington rail disaster, to
remove the responsibility for rail safety from the privatised Railtrack to
an independent body.
His announcement came at the end of a government rail safety review which
began last October after the crash that killed 31 people.
The Department of Transport review recommended that Railtrack should be
stripped of its responsibility for ensuring the private rail operating
companies are safe to operate.
Prescott accepted this and said he would end "Railtrack's dominance" of the
industry's safety agenda by removing its responsibility for setting and
enforcing security standards, which would pass to the Department of
Transport.
But Prescott has decided to allow Railtrack to keep overall responsibility
for setting safety standards and carrying out audits.
And Railtrack's Safety and Standards Directorate will be set up as a
Railtrack subsidiary company, Railway Safety Limited, rather than removing
it entirely from Railtrack control.
Families of those killed in the Paddington crash are horrified.
Solicitor Louise Christian, speaking on behalf of the bereaved families,
said: "They are concerned there remains a conflict of interest in any
company associated with Railtrack retaining a responsibility for safety.
"A subsidiary company will still be part of the profit structure and will
be under the same pressure to put profits before safety."
Prescott has also decided against requiring the rail companies to fit the
expensive but failsafe Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system, which would
prevent trains going through red lights, in favour of the cheaper Train
Protection and... http://www.billkath.demon.co.uk/cw/out/out.html
