Safety fear as EU says rail must go metric
BRITAIN’S rail network is to go metric on the orders of EU bureaucrats, sparking fears the move could cause chaos and lead to accidents.
Miles and yards will be barred from signs and documents and translated into kilometres and metres under the plans.
But an official report seen by The Mail on Sunday states that railway workers will have to calculate speeds and distances in both imperial and metric measurements during the changeover, causing a risk of dangerous confusion.
Last night the switch was branded unnecessary by train drivers’ union Aslef. General Secretary Mick Whelan said: ‘It’s a waste of money which would be better spent on keeping fare increases down. It is also an unacceptable risk to expect train drivers to cope with signalling data which switches between mph and kph depending on which bit of track they are on.’
According to a ‘risk analysis’ by the Rail Safety And Standards Board, problems could arise during the transition when staff need to handle some trains which are metric-compliant and others whose speed is still measured in miles per hour.
Trackside mile markers will be replaced by kilometre signs and staff rule books and training manuals will be rewritten following a directive from the European Railway Agency.
A test run has been blamed for some problems, including five incidents in which trains passed red signals. Despite this, Network Rail has started rolling out the new signalling system.
The Department For Transport applied to Brussels for an opt-out from the metrication directive in 2012 but was turned down.
Network Rail said: ‘Our aim is to digitise the railway to ensure Britain has the network it needs.’
The Department for Transport said the metric system will be used ‘to meet EU regulations’.