Railtrack to loose safety role

Railtrack is to have its role removed of overseeing safety on Britain's railways. The company may also loose other

photo: reuters

Profit-v-Safety Fueled by the horrific crash at Paddington on 5 October the concerns of the public as well as rail experts has been growing about railway safety. Criticism of Railtrack and its dual role of operating the system as well as safety has been widespread. Despite reassurances from the Company, concerns have frequently been expressed about its abilty to reconcile its duty to provide a safe railway network and shareholders' demands for dividends. This latest move suggests that the government believes that the two do not sit comfortably together.

responsibilities it has concerning safety.

Legislation will be included in the Queens Speech. It is not yet clear to what body the responsibilities will be handed. One option would be for the existing Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to take over them over or the government could create a new indepenent safety authority. The report identified five areas where Railtrack was considered to be failing. All could be included in the new legislation:

• safety rules and procedures
• railway standards development
• safety auditing
• strategic research
• the investigation of accidents

Earlier stories

• Paddington Rail Crash - Update

Web sources

• Yahoo Full Coverage
  
• Railtrack To Be Stripped Of Safety Role
  The Guardian 10 Oct 99
  
• Railtrack to be stripped of safety role
  BBC Online 10 Oct 99
  
• Former driver tells of train safety fears
  BBC Online 09 Oct 99
  
• Railtrack safety under scrutiny
  BBC Online 09 Oct 99