John Redwood

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Redwood Asks for Reassurances over Train Safety

John Redwood has long campaigned for better safety in train carriages.  In particular, he has advocated seatbelts, the securing of luggage and the removal of sharp edges and hard surfaces in train compartments.  Following the crash at Ufton Nervet in 2004, Mr Redwood gained specific assurances from the Secretary of State for Transport to act as a matter of urgency in these matters.  On Tuesday, John Redwood questioned the Minister on this subject in the House.

The exchange is quoted below:

Mr. John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con): What action are the Government taking to examine how passengers can be safer on trains in the event of rapid deceleration or derailment? Is any work going on to secure luggage, to give people the option of a belt, or to improve the design of carriages so that there are fewer hard objects and sharp-edged surfaces, as the difference between the inside of a train and a modern car in the standard of safety is scandalous?

Mr. Darling: Yes, work is going on. Specifically, following the tragic accident and derailment in Berkshire in 2004, the Rail Safety and Standards Board is considering the lessons to be learned. Trains in general are much safer and better constructed than they were in the past. There is a lot of evidence to show that, provided that people remain within the train at a time of rapid deceleration or derailment, they have a better chance of not being injured than if, for one reason or another, they are flung out of the train. In addition to that work, we constantly do everything that we can to use all the modern techniques available to make trains as safe as possible. Self-evidently, trains are different from cars. The right hon. Gentleman has previously raised with me the question of seatbelts, and that is still to be investigated, but I assure him that we are considering that.