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The New Statesman

The New Statesman

Exclusive: engineers and experts say rail safety standards are slipping

The New Statesman
Summary
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80% Informative

Nine people with experience of working for Network Rail or its suppliers have spoken to the New Statesman to express concerns over the safety culture on the railways.

They say a culture has taken hold in which reputation and cost efficiency have taken precedence over safety.

The more cynical engineers and track workers have another name for it: Not-Work Rail .

Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd completed 38,400 transactions last year with more than 1,300 suppliers of goods and services.

Electrical cables trailed across the floor near powerful machines to which safety guards had not been attached.

Industrial chemicals were left exposed on a site on which workers smoked wherever they liked.

The workplace subsequently received enforcement notices from the Health and Safety Executive and the local fire and rescue services.