§ Mr. Joplingasked the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to reduce the dangers of carrying military explosives by rail.
§ Mr. John MorrisThe carriage of military explosives by rail is governed by a Statutory Instrument (No. 19 of 1969). There are also detailed Ministry of Defence regulations laying down precisely how the Statutory Instrument should be implemented.
These regulations have been carefully reviewed this year and this review has confirmed that, in general, the regulations do serve to ensure that military explosives 291W travel by rail under the safest practical conditions. All concerned have been reminded that these regulations must be strictly adhered to. It has also been decided that railway wagons carrying complete loads of military explosives should in future carry a special label showing the fire fighting class symbol appropriate to the explosives in the wagon. These labels are in production now and when in use will help firemen called in to deal with an emergency.
In order to reduce still further the possibility of axle boxes over-heating the British Railways Board are restricting the maximum weight of explosives which may be loaded into certain types of wagon. Close examination and certification of wagons ensure that vehicles selected for this traffic will meet the required constructional standard.
Military ammunition and explosives are of course subjected to stringent tests for safety in transit before being accepted for use by the Services and it is a fact that there is no known case of a fatal accident in this country over the last 25 years as a result of a rail accident involving wagons with military ammunition and explosives.