Gay Mitchell
Question:58 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Transport if he has received a report from the Luas project team on the safety of the Luas lines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11046/04]
View answerTuesday, 4 May 2004
Questions (54)
Written answers
Section 51 of the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001 provides that the Luas system may not be opened for testing and commissioning or for passenger services until it has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of an inspector appointed by the Minister under the regulation of Railway Act 1871, that is, my Department's railway inspecting officers, that the infrastructure and rolling stock is safe and suitable and that the safety management systems will be appropriate to ensure safe operation of the railway.
The Railway Procurement Agency and Connex have both submitted draft safety cases to the railway inspecting officers. There is currently no legal requirement to submit these documents. That requirement is contained in the Railway Safety Bill, which is not yet law. However, the parties concerned agreed to adopt the safety case approach as the means by which the RPA and Connex will satisfy the requirements of railway inspecting officers under the 2001 Act.
A safety case is a document which describes how a railway undertaking manages safety in all of its activities. The safety case submitted by the Railway Procurement Agency is being used to demonstrate the safety of the infrastructure and rolling stock, while the Connex safety case relates to the safety management systems to be used to ensure safety of tram movements and passenger services.
The railway inspecting officers are in regular contact with the RPA and Connex regarding the draft safety cases and have given phased approvals to the testing and commissioning of various elements of the Luas system. Such phased approvals will continue and full revenue service can only commence once the relevant approval under section 51 of the 2001 Act has been given.