24 September 2004
The safety of rail travel continues to improve, with no passengers killed in collisions or derailments in 2003/04, according to the annual report from the Health & Safety Executive.
There were 39 fatalities on the railways over the year to March 31 – 20% down on the previous year. In addition, nine railway employees lost their lives.
Allan Sefton, the HSE's director of rail safety, said he was concerned by eight deaths at level crossings.
The September 21 report also showed that the number of broken rails on the Network Rail infrastructure fell by 25%, but the number of track buckles was up from 21 in 2002/03 to 137 the following year.
PFsep2004
