Inside U.K.
Train Crash Highlights Safety Flaws, Rising Complaints
By STEVE HILL
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事故で英鉄道の問題点浮き彫りに
先月5日にロンドン郊外で起きた列車衝突事故では、乗客31人が死亡、数十人がけがをしました。信号無視が事故の原因とみられていますが、実は2年前にも同じような事故が起きています。向上されない安全性とサービス悪さに、国民の不信は募るばかりです。
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Recently, a horrific disaster near London stretched public confidence in
Britain's rail services to the limit. On Oct. 5 a total of 31 passengers
were killed and dozens more injured when two trains collided just outside
Paddington Station, in the west of the capital.
Commuters and regular users could see it as a warning. The accident occurred
just two years after a similar accident, at Southall, which is currently the
subject of a public inquiry.
Seven people perished in that incident and 150 were injured when a
Swansea-to-London express overshot a yellow warning signal and then a red
light before colliding with a freight train. Great Western Railways was
fined £1.5 million (¥300 million) after admitting breaches of Health and Safety Commission regulations.
The latest collision, at Ladbrokes Grove junction, forced Paddington station
closed for almost two weeks, totally disrupting high speed services with
Wales and the west. And although the lines and one of the main gateways to
London have since reopened, it will be a long while yet before commuters again
feel safe.
The government has moved quickly to put safety concerns back at the top of the
agenda. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has given rail companies a month
to implement a seven-point package aimed at restoring public confidence.
Britain's rail services were privatized seven years ago, and there are now
25 different companies running trains throughout the country. In the days of
the government-run British Rail, there used to be a standard training
scheme. But now the 25 different train operating companies all have their own
methods of training drivers.
Prescott wants to see a uniform system reintroduced and to have an
industry-wide standard in place. He has also called for a confidential
incident reporting system to be established. This would enable employees at
the various rail firms to report, in confidence, safety-related problems and
concerns to an independent body, which would then take the issue forward.
It is hoped that this system, already in place at three firms, will encourage
staff to speak up instead of keeping their worries to themselves because they
fear losing their jobs. In another measure, the government insists on speeding
up the introduction of train protection systems, particularly ones which
prevent drivers from passing through red lights.
And from now on, all incidents in which drivers pass through red lights —
similar to traffic lights on roads all over the world — are to be investigated
immediately.
Prescott told members of Par
liament: "The Ladbrokes Grove junction crash touched the heart of the
nation. It must be a watershed for rail safety."
The British public will insist on nothing less. Millions of us were
horrified and shocked by the scenes broadcast on television. Thankfully,
initial reports that more than 100 people had perished in the collision proved
to be wildly inaccurate. But pictures of the mangled and burned-out wreckage of the two trains will continue to haunt people for years to come.
Interviews with survivors — from those who, incredibly, escaped with barely a mark to those in the hospital with broken bones or badly burned limbs —
will not be easily forgotten.
Amid the carnage and despair, there were stories of incredible bravery and
heroism, including an incident in which three men frantically smashed a
double glazed window to escape from a carriage and save each other's
lives.
Many, though, were not so lucky and never had a chance to flee. The impact
of the collision was so great, and the subsequent blaze that engulfed the
trains so intense, that carriages were welded together by the heat. The
grim task of identifying the bodies of those who perished was, in several
cases, rendered totally impossible, adding to the trauma of
grief-stricken relatives.
Once inquests into the deaths of passengers and staff are finished, and
funerals and remembrance services have been held, attention will return to
efforts to improve safety standards on trains in Britain.
Complaints about our trains have rocketed in recent years. In most areas of
the country, people are unhappy about the level of fares, a bewildering range
of tariffs and the general level of service.
That's something I can vouch for personally after taking more than a dozen
different trains during a holiday in Japan in the summer. Without exception,
the services were fast, prompt and efficient, aided by helpful and
well-trained staff.
Here, it is a different story altogether. Our stations appear to lack
investment, while service, where it exists, is poor. To someone like myself
who has lived overseas and experienced something better, it is rather
embarrassing.
At a time when the government is doing its best to encourage people to stop
clogging up Britain's roads with their cars and instead take public
transport in the form of trains, buses or coaches, incidents like the
Ladbrokes Grove disaster will not help.
Shukan ST: Nov. 19, 1999
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