Rail signal driving errors fall

The HSE says safety has improved

The number of times rail signals were passed at dangerous times fell by a third in the 12 months to January.

There were 25 cases of signals being passed at danger (Spads), compared to 36 in the month last year, the Health and Safety Executive has announced.

But the number of serious incidents rose slightly from 12 to 13.

The importance of avoiding Spads was highlighted by the Ladbroke Grove train crash in 2000, when a collision between two trains killed 31 people.

Last month's figure was nine fewer than the average figure for January over the last six years.

SPAD INCIDENTS January 2002: 21 January 2003: 36 January 2004: 25

Nine of the Spads were at signals with a previous Spad history but in in two of these cases, the signal had not been passed at danger during the last five years.

Five trains ran past the signal by more than 200 yards.

In five instances it was not the first time the driver had passed a signal at danger.

There were 11 cases where the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) successfully operated.

The system is designed to reduce the consequences of trains going past red signals, by applying the brakes automatically if a train is going too fast on the approach to a red light.

When the HSE's annual rail safety report was published in November, its rail safety director Alan Sefton said: "Overall, the railways' safety performance continues to improve."