HC Deb 07 May 1998 vol 311 cc441-2W
Mr. Gareth R. Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many railway derailments have occurred in each year(a) in total and (b) broken down by region, for each of the last 10 years on record. [41051]

Ms Glenda Jackson

The total number of train derailment is shown in the table. Due to the changes in the organisation of the railways (including changes to boundaries) over the last ten years, information on derailments by region is not available.

Year Passenger train Freight train Total
1987 20 172 192
1988 28 203 231
1989 32 160 192
1990 26 157 183
1991/92 23 121 144
1992/93 30 175 205
1993/94 29 84 113
1994/95 28 121 149
1995/96 23 81 104
1996/97 27 92 119
Total 266 1,366 1,632

Further details may be found in HM Chief Inspector of Railways Annual Reports on Railway Safety in Great Britain, copies of which are available in the House Library.