The big-business press alleged that the driver of the Thames train, Michael Hodder, passed through a red signal, SN 109, into the path of the other train. This signal, which is hard to see because a pylon restricts its view, has been passed at least seven times at red within the last year.

Union officials representing 14,000 train drivers recently announced a "go-slow" near 22 high-risk signals across the rail network that have been regularly passed at red.

The disaster spotlights the refusal of the government and rail bosses to introduce the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system on all trains. This system uses radio beacons to warn if a train is approaching a danger signal and will apply the brakes if the driver misses the warning. The Great Western Express train that crashed on October 5 was fitted with ATP, but it is not known if it was switched on.

An inquiry conducted after the London Clapham rail crash in 1988, which killed 35 people, recommended the introduction of the ATP. Successive governments have opposed it, saying it costs too much. Instead, the government has announced that a far cheaper system, the Train Protection Warning System (TPWS), should be fitted on smaller lines by the year 2004. But this system only works at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour.

Another safety device that could have prevented the deadly crash, a sand drag, was removed from the line the Thames train was on when it was still part of British Rail in 1993. If the bunker-like drag had been in place, the train would have come to a stop rather than continuing on a line that converged with the main line.

Many working people are discussing how and why this happened. A rail worker at Manchester Piccadilly Station, who did not want to be named because of restrictive rules the bosses impose on rail workers about speaking out in public, said, "Railtrack is to blame; this is about profit." There has been a lot of discussion about re-nationalizing the railway, which is today split up among at least 25 rail companies.

Another rail worker at Piccadilly commented, "The companies should work together and put safety first."

The drive for profit has led to cuts in safety, job losses and longer hours of work. Train drivers work up to 10 hours a day and 50 hours a week.

Train guards (conductors) who are members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, have called a strike for October 29. The issue in the strike ballot, taken before the crash at Paddington, was safety, in particular the duties and responsibilities of a guard after an accident. Guards in 18 rail companies backed the strike. Results from the ballot for two other companies, Scotrail and Midland mainline, will be announced next week. They are expected to vote for the strike.

Debra Jacobs is a member of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union in Manchester.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home