Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghlacadh leis an Teachta as ucht an cheist seo a ardú sa Teach anocht agus deis a thabhairt dom freagra cuimsitheach a thabhairt dó.
Without doubt, the incident in Arklow on Thursday, 8 November 2001 gives rise for concern. A high level formal inquiry is under way by Iarnród Éireann to establish the full cause or causes of the incident.
Iarnród Éireann provided the following statement to the officials of the Minister for Public Enterprise:
At 20.30 hours approximately on Thursday 8th November 2001, a pair of locomotives, with no train attached and not under power, rolled away from Arklow railway station and entered the Arklow to Rathdrum single line section without authority or crew. The locomotives had been de-coupled from carriages following a journey from Connolly to Arklow and placed and secured on the loopline platform awaiting authority to return to Dublin.
The 18.30 hours Connolly to Rosslare Europort service was at Rathdrum at the time. Signalling staff immediately activated safety procedures and prevented that train from departing Rathdrum.
The locomotives, on meeting an incline, came to a halt approximately three miles on the Dublin side of Arklow. Staff went immediately to the location and secured the locomotives. The locomotives were taken out of traffic for technical examination and an inquiry into the incident has commenced.
The initial notification of the incident was given by telephone from Iarnród Éireann to the chief railway inspecting officer of the Department of Public Enterprise at approximately 10.20 p.m. on the same evening. This indicated that the locomotives came to a halt approximately one quarter of a mile north of the level crossing at Shelton.
A railway inspecting officer of the Department visited Arklow station the following morning. The preliminary information available from Iarnród Éireann and from the railway inspecting officer would seem to indicate that the incident gave rise to an unsafe situation which, had safety procedures not been activated, could have resulted in a serious accident. It is possible that under slightly different circumstances, for instance had the locomotives moved away a few minutes later, the potential for an accident may have been increased as it may not have been possible to implement safety procedures in sufficient time. The chief railway inspecting officer is seeking further information from Iarnród Éireann, particularly in relation to the technical and procedural issues.
The Minister for Public Enterprise has asked Iarnród Éireann to complete its inquiry as a matter of urgency and to provide a copy of its findings to the chief railway inspecting officer of her Department. She has also requested Iarnród Éireann to provide the chief railway inspecting officer with an interim report as a matter of urgency indicating the preliminary findings of the inquiry and the immediate actions, if any, that are required to prevent similar occurrences on the rail network in the future.
The Minister would like to advise the House that Iarnród Éireann again contacted the chief railway inspecting officer yesterday morning concerning another unrelated incident which took place on the same stretch of track on Monday evening of this week. This incident occurred at approximately 5.30 p.m. on 12 November when a maintenance train arrived at Shelton for stabling. The crew was unable to operate the points to allow the train into the sidings. It noticed smoke issuing from the location case beside the level crossing barriers. It secured the points on the signalman's instruction and proceeded instead to Arklow. A short distance beyond Shelton the locomotive struck a high tension ESB power cable which appeared to have been lying across the tracks. The cable broke, striking and setting fire to a caravan and a car parked at a house adjacent to the railway line. The emergency services and the ESB were called to the scene. Thankfully, no one was injured in the incident.
It is understood that a number of homes in the Arklow area suffered a power cut as a result. It appears that a number of track circuit relays were burnt out. The line was closed to traffic that evening. Evening passenger train services were terminated at Wicklow and Arklow, with passengers being bussed between these locations. While the Minister for Public Enterprise understands from Iarnród Éireann that the necessary repair work is being carried out at present, the line has been re-opened and is being managed in accordance with Iarnród Éireann special arrangements for operations during degraded conditions. The Minister has been informed that an inquiry is being set up by Iarnród Éireann to establish the full facts of this incident. She will be seeking a report on the findings of the inquiry.
The safety of our railways remains a priority for the Government, particularly the Minister for Public Enterprise. She published the latest report of the independent auditors commissioned to assess Iarnród Éireann's progress in implementing the Railway Safety Programme 1999-2003 and the recommendations of the auditors in previous reports. The conclusions of the auditors were very positive in relation to the progress made by the company. This does not mean that we are complacent about railway safety. From 1999 to the end of 2001, Iarnród Éireann will have invested almost £290 million of Exchequer funds in improving the safety of its railway network and its safety management systems. Substantial funding for the continuation of the safety programme will be available for 2002 and 2003.
In addition to the safety programme, the Minister is updating the outdated legislation which currently regulates the safety of the railways. A railway safety Bill is currently being drafted to be published before Christmas and enacted as a priority in the spring of 2002. The Bill will establish an independent Railway Safety Authority and provide it with wider powers to investigate incidents of this kind, including the power to act as observer at internal Iarnród Éireann inquiries.
