HC Deb 12 June 1968 vol 766 cc239-42
Mr. Goodhew

(by Private Notice) asked the Minister of Transport whether he will make a statement on the fire which occurred this morning in a train near St. Albans.

The Minister of Transport (Mr. Richard Marsh)

Yes, Sir. At about 8.20 this morning a serious fire occurred in the undergear of the rear two-car set of the eight-car diesel multiple-unit 07.40 Bedford to St. Pancras passenger train, when the train had passed Sandridge and was approaching St. Albans. The fire did not penetrate into the passenger compartments.

The train was rapidly brought to a halt to enable the passengers to be detrained. Unfortunately, a number of passengers broke windows and jumped from the coaches before the train came to a stand. I regret to inform the House that of these passengers one has died, one is seriously injured in St. Albans hospital, and 11 have been detained in hospital suffering from shock and cuts.

I am sure that the House will join with me in expressing sympathy to the bereaved and to the injured.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. Lieutenant-Colonel McNaughton, an Inspecting Officer of Railways, has visited the scene of the accident, and I will order an inquiry to be held.

Mr. Goodhew

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that statement. May I express the hope that the whole House will join the right hon. Gentleman in his expression of sympathy for the bereaved and injured.

Is the Minister aware that there is growing concern among those who travel on this line, as this is the third fire in about the last three or four years, and there seems to be a growing number of casualties on each occasion, this one resulting in the first fatality?

In view of the great danger to passengers who leap from blazing carriages, and may well leap on to a line on which an express train is travelling, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman what action has been taken as a result of the recommendation made after the last fire in 1966 that there should be communicating doors at the end of these diesel cars? Will he ensure that efforts are made to get passengers as witnesses at the inquiry, which did not seem to be done very enthusiastically at the last inquiry?

Mr. Marsh

I think that the first point which must be made clear, and which I am sure the hon. Gentleman will accept, is that I cannot comment on the cause of this fire since it is not yet known. It may or may not be similar to that on a previous occasion.

The other point to be stressed is that these compartments were not ablaze. I am informed that at no time did the fire enter any of the passenger compartments. The injuries and the fatality were caused by persons leaping out of the train before it had come to a standstill. One can understand that. But I am told the fire had not moved into the passenger compartments. There seems to be some evidence that if people had not jumped out of the carriages the arrangements for them to leave the train would have been perfectly adequate. One can, of course, understand how people react on these occasions.

Mr. Gwilym Roberts

Will my right hon. Friend look at the safety structure of these coaches? I believe that they carry up to 80 passengers, and have only four doors. In view of the number of accidents and the tendency of people to break windows, will my right hon. Friend consider that in particular?

Mr. Marsh

The inquiry will be a public one, and those responsible for it will be entitled to seek and take any evidence into account—but the trouble here, as I understand, seems to have been that smoke, not fire, went into the com- partments through the ventilation system, and this, understandably, caused people to panic. If the train had stopped, they probably could have left it quite safely.

Mr. Webster

What steps have been taken to implement the recommendation of the previous inquiry that there should be communicating doors between coaches? Will the Minister undertake to ensure that civilian passenger witnesses are encouraged to come forward at the inquiry?

Mr. Marsh

On the first point, I understand that this has been, and is being, looked at carefully. The attendance of witnesses is entirely a matter for the inquiry. If persons have evidence to give to the inquiry, they will be both welcomed and encouraged to do so. It will be a public inquiry and the proceedings will be published.

Sir Harmar Nicholls

It is not proper to probe this accident until we have had the inquiry, but the Minister has rather moved over the question asked by my hon. Friend. Have the recommendations of the previous inquiry been put into operation, or not?

Mr. Marsh

A number of modifications to these units have been made as a result of the previous inquiry.