Commons Quotes
Date Speaker Quote - Click on Link for full text - where available Source
1 18/11/1999 John Prescott The October SPAD figure has only been bettered once in the last 10 years. We must not be complacent however. The Ladbroke Grove accident demonstrated all too clearly how a single SPAD can result in catastrophe. That is why it is so important that the rail industry commit to reducing the number of SPADs. I sought this commitment from the industry at the rail summit which I held last month. When the industry reports back to me on 30 November I shall expect nothing less from them than a detailed programme of action. Commons - Written answers
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
2 19/10/1999 John Prescott The Ladbroke Grove junction rail crash touched the heart of the entire nation. It must be a watershed for railway safety. We must make it so. We must emphasise to everyone concerned that safety comes first, second and third on Britain's railways.
The lasting legacy and the outcome of all the urgent actions now in progress must surely be a more open, more responsive, more rigorous culture of safety across the rail industry. We owe the victims and their loved ones nothing less. I am sure that the House agrees.		 Commons - Hansard
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
3 22/2/2000 John Prescott Taken together with the decisions that I have announced, I believe that we are now well on the way to a significantly safer railway than the one that we had three years ago, before the Southall crash. Last October, I said that the Paddington tragedy must be a watershed for railway safety. The Government give safety in transport the highest priority. As the House knows, I have campaigned for it all my political life.
Never before have we seen such a concerted effort by such respected authorities to ensure greater safety on our railways. Their work is impressive; their conclusions are persuasive; and the industry's response is positive. Now we look forward to Lord Cullen's report on how the strongest possible culture of safety can be constructed throughout the railway industry. Such a total commitment to safety is the response demanded by the tragedies of Southall and Ladbroke Grove, as I am sure the whole House will agree.
 Commons - Hansard
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
4 22/2/2000 John Prescott Sir David supports an enhanced version, TPWS-plus, which would increase the speed at which TPWS is effective from 75 to 100 m.p.h. It would add some £70 million to the approximately £250 million cost of TPWS. Sir David's clear advice is that that strategy strikes the right balance, irrespective of cost. With the added benefit of TPWS-plus, the system will provide within four years a level of protection that it would take 10 years to achieve if we switched to a programme of installing ATP retrospectively across the network to the fastest realistic time scale.
ATP is already in operation on the Great Western line, the Chiltern line and the Heathrow Express. It is being fitted on the channel tunnel rail link, and will be included in the resignalling of the west and east coast main lines. Sir David recommends that all lines running at over 100 m.p.h. should be fitted with ATP as they are upgraded. He specifically recommends taking forward the current programme to fit ATP on the west coast main line from 2002; fitting ATP on the east coast main line, with work starting in 2006, if possible; and fitting full ATP to the Midland main line.
TPWS would have prevented the Paddington crash. The enhanced TPWS that Sir David recommends would have prevented the Southall crash. It can be introduced quickly and it can save lives--more than seven out of 10 accidents are caused by trains passing red signals.
Looking further ahead, Sir David recommends that the industry start planning now for a transition to the most advanced European standard of automatic train protection and train control. That is the next generation of ATP, which will use radio-controlled moving-block signalling for optimum safety at all speeds.
At this stage, it is not possible to put a precise figure on the cost of future ATP installation. Radio-controlled moving-block systems should be cheaper and offer greater benefits than current technologies. Some have estimated the cost at between £1 billion and £2 billion. That is a cost which the industry would have to cover, as safety is not an optional extra.
Commons - Hansard
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
5 22/2/2000 John Prescott Both the Davies and the Health and Safety Executive reports published today show that we can make a start on improving rail safety. I am not prepared to wait for the most perfect technology to be developed, for the most perfect administrative machinery to be put in place or for the most perfect legislation to be drafted if that means needless delay in the meantime. What can be done must be done to improve rail safety immediately Commons - Hansard
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
6 29/1/2002 Rt Hon John Spellar MP The 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.
 Commons - Written answers
Minister of State
7 15/5/2002 Tony Blair Thirdly, in relation to the Cullen recommendations, the majority are either being introduced or have been introduced—or, where particular problems have arisen, we are working with the industry to introduce them. Of course, I certainly accept that they have to be introduced. Commons - Hansard
Prime Minister
8 17/7/2002 Rt Hon John Spellar MP The Government have asked the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) to ensure that all recommendations are implemented. HSC published progress reports covering the six-month recommendations from Lord Cullen's 1 and 2 reports on 20 March and 23 May, respectively. In the autumn, HSC will publish a report that will cover progress on all 295 railway safety recommendations arising from the recent railway public inquiries. Commons - Written answers
Minister of State
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