§ 24. John BarrettTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on progress towards the implementation of recommendations made by Lord Cullen on rail safety. [28460]
§ Mr. SpellarThe Government have asked the Health and Safety Commission, the regulator for railway safety, to ensure that action is taken on all the recommendations made by Lord Cullen.
The HSC published an action plan in November 2001 on how each of the recommendations in part 1 of Lord Cullen's report would be taken forward. The HSC hope to publish before Easter a detailed progress report on the implementation of these recommendations in the six-month period to 20 December 2001.
The HSC are currently consulting the industry about implementing the recommendations in part 2 of Lord Cullen's report. They hope to issue a progress report by Easter for the period to 8 March 2002.
The HSC's first action plan on the recommendations from the joint inquiry into train protection systems was published in September 2001.
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§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on gauge corner cracking; and what international representations Railtrack has received about its solutions to this problem. [30308]
§ Mr. Jamieson[holding answer 25 January 2002]: Railtrack has received international representations from a variety of sources.