HC Deb 26 January 1953 vol 510 cc659-61
15. Mr. Nabarro

asked the Minister of Transport which railway accidents occurring in 1951–52 were adjudged by the inspecting officers of his Department to be attributable to faulty or negligent maintenance of steam locomotives; and what total numbers of fatal or other casualties resulted from such accidents, including the Blea Moor disaster.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

In 1951, 13 accidents were reported which were adjudged to be caused by faulty or negligent maintenance of steam locomotives. These included the accidents at Weedon, in which there were 15 deaths and 36 injuries, and at Queen Street, Glasgow, in which seven persons were injured. In the remaining 11 cases three persons were injured.

The final figures for 1952 are not yet available, but the latest returns give 13 such accidents, in which there were 49 instances of injury and no fatalities. These included the derailment at Blea Moor, in which 36 persons were injured, and the accident at Crewkerne, in which there were eight injuries.

Mr. Nabarro

Is it not a fact that the present standards of uncleanliness of British Railways locomotives, demonstrating a good deal of slovenliness in maintenance, are primarily the cause of these accidents? Does not my right hon. Friend recall that, in pre-war days, steam locomotives were gleaming and clean, whereas today they generally resemble travelling soot bags? Until this matter is gone into and standards of morale are improved is it not impossible to prevent further accidents on account of maintenance?

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

I think that it would be a good thing if everything on the railways and elsewhere were a little smarter, but I am anxious to make sure that people realise that although there are certain places, as shown in the Inspecting Officer's Report, where these accidents were due to negligence, there is no general cause for alarm about the conditions of locomotives generally in our country.

Mr. Ernest Davies

Is not a more reasonable explanation of the difficulties which have arisen the fact that the locomotives are old and should be put out of commission, and that as a consequence of the starvation of the railways of capital investment it has not been possible to replace them?

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

That certainly plays its part.

Mr. G. Wilson

Can my right hon. Friend say whether the altered regulations as to the reporting by drivers of defects of railway engines are an improvement on the regulations that existed under the old railway system or not? Has he considered whether the variations are an improvement or the reverse?

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

There was an alteration in the basis of calculation in 1949, and I will discuss that point with the Chief Inspecting Officer.