Tube Danger From Uninspected Trains

London Underground Limited (LUL) has been breaking safety rules by running trains that have missed essential safety inspections, rail unions have warned. RMT accused LUL last week of running trains that had not been inspected within the stipulated time limits and was continuing to open under-staffed stations, in breach of safety rules and increasing risk to passengers and Tube staff. It said train brake blocks, cab equipment, chassis brackets and other critical equipment is supposed to be inspected at 14-day intervals, but the union has evidence that trains that have not been inspected for at least 22 days.

In contravention of operating rules, these trains had not been taken out of service, the union said.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: 'It is becoming ever more clear that LUL's determination to force through these dangerous cuts has impaired its judgment to the extent that it is prepared to ignore its own safety standards. It is also in danger of throwing away far more money than it is likely to save by pursuing cuts that the men and women who get out there and run the Tube day in and day out have made clear are both unsafe and unnecessary.' RMT and TSSA members across the Tube are refusing to work extra hours as part of a safety dispute over the company's plans to axe 800 posts.

Source: TUC Risks

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