Inside U.K. Train Crash Highlights Safety Flaws, Rising Complaints By STEVE HILL	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
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。

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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