On Thursday 4th July, Mark Pawsey MP called for a debate in the House of Commons on safety on the railways after a man was hit by a train close to Rugby station. Responding for the Government, the Leader of the House Andrew Lansley MP said he would ask the Department for Transport to look into the matter.
Speaking afterwards, Mark said:
“It is an absolute tragedy that the railways around Rugby have suffered another fatality following this event last month. Whilst this must of course be a devastating time for the person’s family, it does raise further points on the safety of our railways”.
Mark continued:
“I welcome the Leader of the House’s response that trespass fatalities in 2012-13 fell below the average for the last 10 years but I am eager to make sure more is done to make our railways even more protected”.
Mark concluded:
“Fatalities have a massive impact on the families concerned, but they can also cause significant psychological scarring for train drivers, as well as leading to disruption for travellers. I welcome the new fencing that Network Rail is going to install near Rugby to try and avert incidents like this happening again and I look forward to getting more information from the Department for Transport”.