§ Dr. Twinnasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of railway employees killed and 396W seriously injured in accidents whilst on duty in each of the past 10 years and show how many of those killed and injured were struck by trains.
§ Mr. David MitchellThe information requested is as follows:
Fatal and Serious Accidents to Railway Employees on all Railways in Great Britain All accidents Struck by trains Year Fatal Serious Total Fatal Serious Total 1975 46 595 641 27 104 131 1976 46 559 605 30 70 100 1977 34 629 663 28 101 129 1978 45 781 826 33 88 121 1979 43 807 850 24 81 105 1980 32 611 643 20 94 114 1981 27 192 219 21 35 56 1982 27 137 164 17 22 39 1983 28 161 189 24 39 63 1984* 25 120 145 14 18 32 * Provisional. Note: In 1981 the definition of a serious injury was changed to conform to the more rigorous "major injury" classification used by the Health and Safety Executive.
The figures show a significant decrease in the number of industrial deaths and serious injuries, the 1984 figures being the lowest ever recorded. The improvement reflects the considerable effort put into accident prevention in recent years within the railway industry.