§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement about the accident on 2 July on the Waterloo to Exeter main line west of Tisbury involving a passenger train and a heavy goods vehicle on an unmanned level crossing; and what steps he is taking to improve safety on such crossings. [2508]
§ Mr. Jamieson[holding answer 9 July 2001]: The incident is under investigation by the Health and Safety Executive's HM Railway Inspectorate with the assistance of the Health and Safety Laboratories. A meeting will take place on the 20 August between HM Railway Inspectorate and Railtrack's Southern Zone Level Crossings Manager 528W to assess the incident and any further actions that are necessary. HM Railway Inspectorate will shortly be asking Railtrack to include this type of level crossing in their system wide review of level crossings
After the road accident that caused a rail collision at Great Heck, Selby, the Deputy Prime Minister asked the Health and Safety Commission to convene and lead a working group that will look at the circumstances of incidents where vehicles have blocked rail lines and whether there are features in common that might have been preventable. Its report will be published in the autumn.