§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if any trains operating on the Virgin West Coast Mainline are of the same design as the Great North Eastern Railway trains recently found to have faults in their wheels; [47313]
(2) what safety checks will be made on West Coast Mainline trains to ensure that they do not possess flaws in design similar to that recently identified in the wheels of the Great North Eastern Railway trains. [47314]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonNone of the trains operating on the West Coast Main Line is of the same design as the Great North Eastern Railway train which was derailed on 16 June. The immediate cause of the incident appears to have been a fractured wheel, although the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE's) Railway Inspectorate's investigation is still on-going.
Immediately after the derailment on 16 June, in which the last coach of a high speed train operated by Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) was derailed at Sandy, Bedfordshire, Railtrack sent out notices to all other train operating companies giving details of the nature of the failure and advising them what action should be taken.
In addition, the Railway Inspectorate has written to all the train operating companies reminding them of their duties under the relevant health and safety legislation. These require them to identify whether there are similar features on their rolling stock and take appropriate action to ensure safety.
I am informed that Virgin Trains are inspecting all their vehicles. The bogies and wheelsets involved in this accident are unique to Mark 4 rolling stock which, in the UK, is used only by Great North Eastern Railways (GNER).