HC Deb 02 March 1966 vol 725 c310W
88. Mr. Goodhew

asked the Minister of Transport why British Railways carried out trials with special equipment fitted to a multiple diesel unit train containing some 700 passengers on 9th February; on how many other occasions similar trials have been conducted on loaded trains; how many previous accidents have occurred during such trials or experiments; and if she will give a general direction, in the public interest, to the Railways Board to ensure that such trials and experiments are carried out on trains loaded with ballast equivalent in weight to the normal passenger load.

Mr. John Morris

These were not trials to test new equipment; they were measurements of stress in normal equipment. The use of the measuring instrument in question on a passenger train without previous testing will be considered by the Inspecting Officer in his report. Measurements with this kind of instrument were carried out in 1957 and in 1961 on other types of train without ill results. I understand that the trains did not then carry passengers. This is not an appropriate subject for a general direction.

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