HSE grants exemptions to heritage/charter train 'slam-door' operations

HSE press release E063:05 - 9 May 2005

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has granted exemptions to enable twelve heritage/charter train companies, and other operators of their Mark 1 rolling stock to continue to run stock without central door locking (CDL).

English Welsh and Scottish Railways Ltd (EWS), Fragonset Railways Ltd, Hastings Diesels Ltd, North Yorkshire Moors Railway Enterprises plc, Riviera Trains Ltd, Scottish Highland Railway Company Ltd, Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust Ltd, Railfilms Ltd, Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Limited, (VSOE) - Northern Belle, Scottish Railway Preservation Society Railtours Ltd, Wessex Trains Ltd, West Coast Railway Company Ltd - and Network Rail as infrastructure controller in respect of such rolling stock operations - can now continue to operate such stock subject to conditions.

HSE's decision to grant the exemptions from Railway Safety Regulations 1999 (RSR) followed six weeks of open public consultation on the applications. HSE said at the start of consultation that, following its independent assessment of the case made by the industry, it was minded to grant the exemptions subject to conditions. The majority of consultees, including the Rail Passengers Council, Department for Transport, London Underground Ltd as well as other parts of the industry, supported HSE's proposal to grant the exemptions.

The conditions require train companies to put in place robust risk mitigation measures before and during operation of the stock. These include on-board supervision of passenger behaviour and door safety, and a manual arrangement of secondary door locks. Some companies are fitting CDL to benefit from greater operational flexibility and require only shorter-term exemptions until CDL equipment is in place. HSE had accepted that it would not be practicable to fit CDL to Mark I rolling stock in all cases but the programme of exemptions will require the twelve companies to implement measures to manage residual safety risks, as far as reasonably practicable, in respect of slam doors.

Notes to editors

1. Mark I rolling stock (known also as slam-door trains) describes a series of vehicle types, including both electric and diesel multiple units and locomotive-hauled vehicles, built mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, which share certain characteristics. Mark I carriages have a poor safety record in collisions because, while they have a robust chassis, they also have a relatively weak body shell. RSR require the withdrawal of unmodified Mark I rolling stock from 1 January 2005 not just because it is less crashworthy than modern stock but also because of the risks to passengers from the absence of central door locking.

2. RSR regulation 5(1) prohibits the operation of hinged door rolling stock without central door locking from 1 January 2005. The heritage/charter train companies considered, and HSE agreed, that it will not be reasonably practicable or economical to install full CDL. To remain compliant with the law on 1 January 2005, HSE granted short-term exemptions until 30 April 2005 pending consultation on long-term exemptions, which started on 4 March and ended on 18 April 2005. The majority of the responses from consultees were broadly supportive of both the granting of the exemption and of attaching the proposed conditions.

3. On 10 February 2005, HSE held a stakeholder consultation meeting with the owners, Network Rail and other invited stakeholders to discuss a practical approach for the secondary door locking and supervision. A standard set of modifications and operating instructions were agreed. A "Joint TOC Document" has now been developed by the three principal operators of heritage/charter trains - English Welsh and Scottish Railways Ltd (EWS), FM Rail Ltd (formed from the merger of Fragonset Railways Ltd and Merlin Rail Ltd) and West Coast Railway Company Ltd, which will define arrangements for the application of the appropriate mitigations - including those within individual exemptions. The exemption certificates refer, as appropriate within the conditions, to this document.

4. RSR regulation 6 provides HSE with a wide-ranging power to grant exemptions. It allows HSE to consider all circumstances of the case in reaching a decision. This means that, in addition to considering existing safety risks and requirements, HSE can also take into account, for instance, practicalities, costs, possible disruption to services, severe overcrowding, the transfer of risk to other modes of transport and the possible introduction of new risks.

5. After a separate application and consultation, HSE has also granted short-term exemptions, subject to conditions, to Dartmoor Railway Ltd until 12 August 2005 in respect of their Mark I rolling stock operations on their own infrastructure. HSE is in discussion with Dartmoor Railway concerning longer-term exemption on a basis commensurate with the exemptions granted to the other heritage/charter train companies.

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