§ Mr. Monroasked the Minister of Transport if he will make a statement on the result of his inquiries into the outbreaks of fire in recent months on British Railways' trucks carrying ammunition and explosives; and what steps he has taken to prevent further cases.
§ Mr. MulleyA serious fire occurred near Carlisle in April of this year which resulted in the explosion of a rail wagon carrying ammunition. This was the first accident of its kind on British Railways since 1945. There have been a number of other incidents when the axle boxes of rail wagons carrying ammunition and explosives have overheated, but in all other cases the overheating has been detected and dealt with before the interior of the wagon was affected.
A full examination of these recent incidents has been made by the interdepartmental committee which is responsible for oversight of the transport of military explosives. A review has been made of the existing regulations and the committee will shortly be reporting to all the Ministers concerned and to the Chairman of the Railways Board. The Home Office, which is responsible for the transport of commercial explosives, is also represented on the committee.
Measures have already been taken by the Departments concerned, and by British Railways, to minimise the risk of accidents to ammunition and explosives moved by rail. The permitted load of explosives in certain types of wagon has been halved; improved information on 205W the contents of explosives wagons and their position in the train is now carried by guards and drivers of trains; and a large label showing the appropriate Firefighting Class Symbol is being introduced. Various other measures aimed at reducing the risk of derailment of trains carrying explosives, and of fire spreading should a wagon develop a hot axle-box, are also being implemented or examined.