§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he intends to ask the railway inspectorate to prescribe maximum safe carrying capacities for British Rail trains.
§ Mr. FreemanNo. Her Majesty's railway inspectorate's advice is that British Rail's rolling stock is designed to be safe, whatever the numbers travelling on board. Sir Anthony Hidden's report on the Clapham rail accident concluded that if the trains in that accident had been overcrowded, passengers having to stand would not have been at any greater risk than those sitting down. The180W inquiry into the Cannon Street accident will be considering whether overcrowding on that train had any effect on the risk of injury to which individual passengers were exposed. As a matter of comfort rather than safety, British Rail's current objectives include train loading standards.