§ 15. Sir Patrick Hannonasked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement on the number of railway accidents which took place during the years 1947, 1948 and during the six months ended 30th June, 1949, indicating in general terms the causes of such accidents, and the number of deaths and serious injuries incurred during those three periods respectively.
§ Mr. BarnesThe information for the years 1947 and 1948 is contained in the report of the Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways for the year 1948, a copy of which I am sending to the hon. Member. It is not practicable to prepare such detailed statistics, as are contained in this Report, for a six-monthly period only, but with the hon. Member's permission, I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT particulars of train accidents which took place during the six months ended 30th June, 1949.
§ Sir P. HannonMay I ask whether, in conjunction with the local authorities, everything possible is being done to prevent an accumulation of accidents upon the roads all over the country?
§ Mr. BarnesThe hon. Member's Question is directed to railways and not to roads.
§ Following are the particulars:
| Train Accidents | 1st January to 30th June, 1949 | |
| Total Number | … | 554 |
| Killed | Seriously Injured | ||
| Passengers | … | — | 6 |
| Servants | … | 3 | 7 |
| Other Persons | … | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | 16 |
| Causes Human Element | ||
| Train Crews | … | 118 |
| Signalmen | … | 157 |
| Technical Defects | … | 159 |
| Other Causes | … | 120 |
| 554 |