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Publication Date: March 9 2007
RMT has asked the Railways Inspectorate to take urgent action to stop Network Rail further jeopardising safety after the 07:15 Glasgow Queen St to Edinburgh train was signalled to proceed in both directions when it was terminated at Haymarket station at around 08:00.
"This was a potentially very dangerous signalling blunder at Waverley which could have resulted in two trains running in the same track section, or a derailment," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.
"Had this mistake been made by one of our members it would have been regarded as a serious matter and would certainly have resulted in disciplinary action being taken against the signaller responsible.
"I have already expressed my grave concerns to the Railways Inspectorate at the unsafe use of scab managers without suitable local knowledge, and this shocking incident underlines those concerns.
"I have today asked the Inspecorate to look into this specific incident and a number of other safety-critical failures we have information on, and to take urgent steps to ensure that the safety of our members and the travelling public is not further compromised.
"Our reps have collated a number of disturbing reports, including the case of a part-time trainer who had been retired from signalling on ill-health grounds with a heart condition being pressured to staff a box in despite not being near a box for five years.
"We have also learned of six safety critical track faults in the Glasgow Central area that the S&T team were told simply to leave, and even the case of a secretary working a 12-hour shift as a caretaker and taking potentially safety-critical calls with no safety training at all.
"Rather than risking people's lives in a fruitless attempt to undermine our members' solid industrial action, Network Rail should be putting its efforts into engaging with us to implement the 35-hour week agreement we signed last summer," Bob Crow said.
