New safety measures for UK railways agreed

Following a meeting today (25 October) between Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Britain's railway

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companies a number of important safety measures have been agreed.

The meeting was called in the wake of the Paddington rail tragedy on 5 October in which 30 people died. Mr Prescott called for a change from a culture of blame to a safety culture.

Amongst the measures agreed are:

• establishment of a confidential hotline for rail staff to report safety issues
• a review of driver training
• rail companies to provide alternative options for both the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) and Train Protection Warning System (TPWS)

Web sources

• Prescott launches rail safety agenda
  The Times 26 Oct 99
  
• 'Real' rail safety action promised
  BBC 25 Oct 99
  
• Railway safety hotline given go-ahead
  This Is London 25 Oct 99
  
• New Rail Safety Measures After Paddington Crash
  News Unlimited 25 Oct 99
  

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