Lord Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
On whose recommendation passenger lifts at most surface railways stations were closed to passengers but still available to railway staff because of the strike by firefighters starting 13 November; what risk assessment was made of the dangers to life caused by a defective lift compared with a railway or road accident; and, if the lifts were considered unsafe for passengers without the immediate availability of national fire crews, whether the railway employers were complying with their duties under health and safety legislation by allowing their own staff to use the lifts. [HL136]
§ The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Macdonald of Tradeston)Some surface station operators closed lifts as part of their mitigation measures during the period of the fire brigades' strike. Any such decision is a matter for the station operating company as the health and safety dutyholder.
A variety of risk assessments were completed by the rail industry prior to the strike, including considering the failure of station lifts. Railway safety assessments considered that the risk of ceasing rail operations and forcing rail traffic onto the roads would present a significantly greater risk than putting into place identified mitigation measures.
Mitigation measures in relation to lifts included emergency procedures for manual winding of the lift and calling out lift engineers, staff accompanying passengers using lifts and restricting lift use. If a station operator decided to close its lifts to passengers but make them available to staff, it would have needed to have assessed the risks of this under normal employee health and safety legislation, but the Health and Safety Executive's HM Railway Inspectorate is not aware of widespread use of any such "closed" lifts by railway staff.