§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the number of accidents involving staff and contractors working on the West Coast Main Line for each of the last five years. [23205]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonI regret that this information is not available in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The accident reporting regime changed in 1996 when the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 came into effect. In addition, accidents are recorded not by train route but by which company reported the accident. In the majority of cases, this is Railtrack, as infrastructure controller, even where Railtrack staff were not involved in the accident. Accidents are recorded against relevant Railtrack zones. The West Coast Main Line covers several such zones and some of the boundaries have changed since the creation of Railtrack in April 1994.