Politicians at the IOSH Rail Industry Conference said Britain’s railways are the safe alternative to the road network — but the industry still has a number of challenges to face up to.
Speaking at the conference, at Glazier’s Hall in London Bridge, the Conservative shadow secretary of state for transport, Theresa Villiers MP, said it is critical that the rail industry changes the misleading perceptions of the industry as not being as safe as the roads.
“It is far safer to travel by train than to get behind the wheel of a car,” she said, in an impassioned speech in which she also championed the merits of “modal shift” from the road to rail. But there is more work to be done, she added: “An issue of concern is the amount of time it takes to conduct investigations. We don’t want to undermine the quality of investigations, but the fact the Potters Bar relatives are still waiting, six years after the accident, to find out answers doesn’t help the long and difficult process of recovering from their loss.”
This point was echoed by the Liberal Democrat shadow secretary of state for transport, Norman Baker MP, who added: “We have to make rail more attractive, and the closure of the rail for engineering purposes does not help. Every time the railway is closed, and diversions or substitute buses put on, it puts people off travelling on the railway, and they make the decision to take their car instead. We need to get to a 24/7 rail system while not compromising safety.”
Ms Villiers highlighted the ongoing security issues with the transport system, and said lessons were still being learnt from 7/7, particularly over emergency communication. She added that high-speed lines and longer franchises for operating companies were being looked at, while the Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s ban on alcohol had helped to provide reassurance for the public on the issue of crime on the rail network.
Mr Baker pointed out that, despite 3000 people losing their lives on Britain’s roads each year, when the Potters Bar rail crash happened, more people were killed on the roads in that same weekend. “There was some soul-searching after Potters Bar in the rail industry, but I don’t see the same inquisition going into the roads, and it’s almost as if those deaths are taken for granted.
Ms Villiers highlighted the risk presented by level crossings and the “distressing incident” at Bestwood in Nottinghamshire where a grandmother and grandson were killed.
But, she said, despite the obvious challenges, “we want to find ways to get the whole rail industry working more cohesively, you in the industry do an incredible job. It has to be remembered, though, that the lives of many passengers are in your hands on a daily basis.”
