The Office of Road and Rail have granted tour operator, West Coast Railways, an exemption for the Central Door Locking issue until a court decision has been made.
News was released on the RailAdvent website last week saying that WCR was at the High Court of Justice aiming to get the ORR to overturn their decision to revoke exemptions surrounding the Central Door Locking on its carriages.
WCR says that if the exemptions are revoked, it would make the business unviable due to cost of upgrading the train carriages with the CDL – expected to be in the region of £7m.
The new exemption runs from the 1st December 2023 until the 29th February 2024 whilst the court’s decision is released.
James Shuttleworth, Commercial Manager at WCR said ‘We are pleased that the ORR have issued us a further exemption certificate so that we can continue operations at least until judgment on the Review is handed down, with our existing but robust safety measures in place. However, this remains a precarious position to be in, as our long experience and the value we bring to local and national communities hangs in the balance of the Court’s decision. We continue to push for the continuance of the UK’s railway heritage for future generations on the main line railway.’
An ORR spokesperson said “ORR has granted WCRC a new three-month exemption from 1 December 2023 to 29 February 2024 to enable it to operate whilst its judicial review is determined”.
Responses
Well it better get sorted out as people are buying tickets and booking accommodation for 2024 season. Please let us not repeat the fiasco of 2023.
All this started because some on the GCR stepped off a carriage that had stopped adjacent to the ramp at the platform end. Since when has it meant that people who make stupid decisions are no longer to blame. Same with 20 mph limit in Wales, if a fool walks out infront of a car you can bet the driver will be responsible.
The HSE’s actions are of a piece with Companies, Railways, Councils and others loudly proclaiming that “their absolute number 1 priority is safety”.
If that was really true then they’d never make anything, run any trains or provide any services. Everything we do carries a level of risk and we are constantly balancing that against the advantages of doing it. Of course safety is important but it cannot ever be the “number 1 priority”, and is instead an important component when assessing any activity.
I will get shot down for this but it’s people Hanging out of windows have helped bring this to attention of the regulators how many railtour photos do you see and there’s a bunch of numpties hanging out of the windows.In the North East many years ago B R had to put bars on all the local comutter stock after someone was beheaded
If health and safety had their way we would never leave the house wrapped up in a straight jacket!
It surprises me that they even know how to open the door. At the NYMR recently I saw a couple on the platform looking for a button to push to open the door!
Surely this comes into the same category as seat belts in vintage cars?
Another example of idiots telling people what they can and can’t do! These are historic vehicles and must be exempt from modern technology! That is the beauty of these vehicles.
As a train spotter in the 60’s we always lent out of the window, H & S gone mad if you ask me
As a former coach steward for SRPS Railtours, who are also affected by the ruling, I found manning of the doors works better than CDL because you stop rail buffs from hanging out of the window which CDL won’t stop. And if coach off the platform prevents accidental opening. Much better to keep a eye on the passangers on the whole train than the guard releasing doors from a Bsk.
Submit this comment to WC as this is really valuable evidence for their case.
I don’t disagree that the H&S seems a bit excessive, but any chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and there’s an awful lot of weak links out there!!
Unfortunately, this is now the litigious society we now live in. The railway is now responsible for everyone’s stupidity! How many passengers have been killed falling from open train doors during the last 20 years ? You’re far more likely to die driving to the station but I digress. From recent events on the GW mainline, I think ORR’s efforts would be better focused on that rather than slam doors on heritage carriages!
Anyone stupid enough to open a train door when it is moving should be prosecuted for endangering those around them
Having recently ridden the Jacobite I was well impressed by the level of customer care and the safety procedures deployed. Specifically, a company representative managed each coach and monitored each door unit personally so no anorak was allowed to dangle out of anything. What more can the ORR reasonably ask for? “Best available practice not involving excessive cost” was always the H&S practitioners mantra.
The issue is not how WCRC NOW operate, but rather that they were found lacking when randomly inspected. That calls into question their compliance with existing safety rules. Yes, CDL is not perfect but it’s the next level up from current arrangement and may be thought to be the ORR’s only course if WCRC are considered unable to ensure proper steward use. Of course the risks are tiny but that is where the railway is now.
We live in a society where young people are rarely exposed to risk. Risk assessments save lives and reduces injury/accidents but individuals lose their own ability to assess risk and it gives them legal challenge when accidents happen. It also brings standardisation through best practice. If WCR can demonstrate robust risk assessments they should be able to avoid standardisation but administrators, insurers and lawyers like best practice. I hope WCR win. If they do, then that legal judgement will inform the 3 previously mentioned professions across the UK. But those young people……
CDL isn’t any safer than the WCRC method anyway – stop at a short platform and all doors release with CDL… (was on a CDL charter and they had to announce to check you were by the platform before opening the door) ORR approve the Esk Valley Northern operation, 4 car trains, longer than platforms so one door is used, so dwells are extended and the trains run late. The trains might be formed with the accessible area at the centre, where the conductor releases a door, but from experience earlier in the year, it’s just luck if they turn up that way round, so ORR approved equality act failings… Mind you I live in 3rd rail land, another lunacy ORR thing which has essentially lead to daily North Downs cancellations as the 166s are unreliable and the obvious concept of expanding 3rd rail was blocked repeatedly… I’m on a WCRC operated train on Wednesday, suspect the trains to get to and from it will feel far more dangerous – Southern on strike and the overtime ban alone wipes out more than half of services. A safety concious regulator would query how that can be, is every member of staff normally working double duties?
It seems health and safety love spoiling people’s enjoyment of things and being petty, but this one takes the biscuit
When are we going to stop making idiotic decisions to protect those who barely have enough brain cells to function in the real world? If someone is stupid enough to open a door on a moving train then they’re to blame, not the company who operates the service.
ORR concern now is that many younger people have only ever know modern doors and have never been on a train with unlocked slam doors.
Shouldn’t be blaming the company, should be blaming the people that stand by the doors and looking out of the windows of the doors, if they stayed away from her doors, we wouldn’t have this problem, there are signs at every door says ‘Do Not Lean Out of the Door Window’ or something similar to that
If you can’t stand by a door and look out through a open window then you might as well be on a tube train no atmosphere no sound ,you might as well read a newspaper !! No more mainline for me far better on the preserved railways .
Absolutely ridiculous. People have ridden in slam door carriages for nearly 200 years and now they say it’s dangerous. How ridiculous. Crossing the road is dangerous too. This sounds like a vendetta by someone
Health and safety taken to unnecessary (and unviable) extremes,