NATIONAL RAIL CONFERENCE EXCLUSIVE: Improving safety remains key priority - Haines

Improving safety on the network must remain a key priority in Control Period 6 (April 2019-March 2024).

That is according to Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines, who said that the deaths of two track workers at Margam in South Wales in July serve as “a tragic reminder” that the UK’s safety record is not yet good enough, despite the country having the safest major railway system in Europe.

He told delegates: “It would be wrong for me to talk about CP5 without mentioning the great strides made in improving safety on the railway. A 40% reduction in workforce accidents is a great achievement that was rightly commended because, after all, the railway is a dangerous environment."

• For the FULL story, read RAIL 892, out now.

• For FULL coverage of the National Rail Conference, read RAIL 892, out now.