§ 58. Mr. MILLSasked the Minister of Transport if his attention has been called to the increasing number of accidents in alighting from passenger trains; and will he state whether there is any standard width of footboard or any maximum distance of side of footboard from railway platforms?
§ Mr. HERBERT MORRISONI am aware that the number of such accidents has somewhat increased, but I doubt whether many of them would have been prevented if the clearance between the fotboard of the carriage and the plat- 2163 form had been smaller. Differences in the length of vehicles and the curvature of the platforms, and other circumstances make it impracticable to prescribe a uniform maximum clearance, but the requirements of my Department with regard to the construction of new passenger lines provide that the interval between the edges of platforms and the footboards of carriages shall be as small as practicable, and special attention is given to this point by the inspecting officers of railways when inspecting new platforms.
§ Mr. SANDERSHas the attention of the inspectors been called to the dangerous gap between the footboard and the platform in the case of curved platforms?
Mr. PALMERHas my hon. Friend's attention been called to the fact that the alighting board of the carriage is sometimes below the level of, or dead level with, the platform?
§ Mr. COCKSIs my hon. Friend aware that in stepping out of a carriage recently on to the platform I found the distance between the carriage and the platforms far greater than I anticipated, and that an hon. Member of this House nearly lost his life?
§ Mr. MORRISONI am very sorry. I can only express the hope that the incident happened in the day time and not late at night. In regard to curves in platforms, my hon. Friend will appreciate that it is not always possible to straighten a curve unless one alters the line on the railway, which may cause a great deal of expense.