HC Deb 08 July 1994 vol 246 cc343-4W
Mrs. Roche

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 28 June,Official Report, column 478–80, what changes have been made in the method used to calculate confirmed fire incidents on London Underground in any of the years since 1990; and when these changes were applied.

Mr. Norris

The method of calculation has not been changed since 1990.

Mrs. Roche

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 28 June,Official Report, columns 478–80, why no figures are available for confirmed fire incidents on London Underground before 1990.

Mr. Norris

Only figures from 1990 onwards are readily accessible from London Underground's database. Since 1988, Her Majesty's railway inspectorate has published some data on fires in its annual reports on railway safety, which are held in the House Libraries, but this is not in a format directly comparable with that already provided, and does not separately identify escalator fires.

Mrs. Roche

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with London Underground concerning fire safety precautions on London Underground rolling stock, how often checks are made on the fire safety of London Underground rolling stock; and if he will publish the content of those discussions.

Mr. Norris

I have regular meetings with London Underground to discuss a variety of issues, including safety. It is not our practice to disclose the content of such discussions, which are confidential to the participants. All London Underground trains are subject to routine maintenance procedures of which safety checks and inspections form an integral part. These include visual inspections of all fire extinguishers, emergency lighting, emergency exits and tests of train safety systems, such as passenger alarms, after every 24 hours of service. Further, more comprehensive, checks are made over longer periods.

Mrs. Roche

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 28 June,Official Report, columns 478–80, regarding fires on the London Underground; if he will provide equivalent figures for British Rail, Network SouthEast to 30 March 1994.

Mr. Freeman

The information is not readily available in the form requested. During the eight years of Network SouthEast's existence, accidents were reported, until about mid 1993, under BR regional headings, making direct retrieval of NSE data impracticable.

National figures are available in the HM railway inspectorate's annual reports, copies of which are in the Library.

Mrs. Roche

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 28 June,Official Report, columns 478–80, how many of the confirmed fire incidents, for each of the years for which figures are available, involved rolling stock that was in use; whether any passengers were using the rolling stock during any of those incidents; and how many passengers were involved in each confirmed fire incident on London Underground rolling stock.

Mr. Norris

Summary information on the total numbers of rolling stock fires and of passenger injuries on London Underground is published in the annual reports of Her Majesty's railways inspectorate on railway safety, which are held in the House Libraries. However, London Underground has advised that the further information requested is not readily available.

Mrs. Roche

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 28 June,Official Report, column 478–80, how many passengers were injured in fires on London Underground, in all categories; and how many staff were injured on London Underground in each of the years for which figures are available.

Mr. Norris

Summary information on passenger and staff injuries is published in the annual reports of Her Majesty's railways inspectorate, which are held in the House Libraries. However, London Underground has advised that a breakdown of the causes of such injuries to the level of detail requested is not readily available.