§ The Marquess of Ailesburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action is routinely taken by each train operating company against drivers who pass red signals; and whether in each case they will indicate whether there has been any change since the major accident outside Paddington. [HL4491]
§ Lord Macdonald of TradestonA Railway Group Standard on signals passed at danger (SPADs) sets out the requirements for both Railtrack and train operating companies (TOCs) on investigating incidents of SPADs. Under this standard, a TOC must review its own safety arrangements and, where relevant, the suitability of a driver to continue in his or her duties if he or she has been involved in three or more SPADs. A driver who is assessed as no longer competent or fit must under the Railways (Safety Critical Work) Regulations 1994 be relieved of his or her duties.
The Health and Safety Executive's HM Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) wrote to all TOCs shortly after the accident at Ladbroke Grove seeking assurances that effective means were being implemented to ensure that all drivers were fully briefed, and reminding them of the likely cause of SPADs and ways in which to avoid them. TOCs were also instructed to review immediately the effectiveness of their driver briefings and to implement necessary improvements in order to maximise the effectiveness of these briefings. The Chief Inspector of Railways also wrote to all TOCs on 22 October to reinforce the letter of 7 October and to ask TOCs to forward details of action they are taking to reduce the numbers of SPADs. This information is currently being collected and analysed by HMRI.
A common standard for immediate investigation of all SPAD incidents is One of the items in the immediate plan for improving railway safety that my right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister agreed with rail industry leaders on 25 October.