Railway seatbelts not as safe as envisioned: UK report

A report prepared by the Rail Safety and Standards Board in the United Kingdom has warned that fitting seatbelts in trains could increase passenger risk to death and injury.

London, Aug.1 : A report prepared by the Rail Safety and Standards Board in the United Kingdom has warned that fitting seatbelts in trains could increase passenger risk to death and injury.

According to The Sun, five years of tests using computers and crash dummies found that belts would do more harm than good.

Modern seats, which deform to reduce injury in an accident, offer better protection, the report said, adding that strapped-in passengers would find it harder to flee in the eveny of an emergency.

The report, however, said that the installing of laminated windows would help in stopping travellers being hurled through glass in the event of a crash. It would also allow rescue crew to break through them easier.

The British railway system is the oldest in the world. It consists of almost 16,536km (10,274 miles) of standard gauge track, of which 4,928km (3,062 miles) is electrified.

The system was originally built as a patchwork of local rail links operated by small private railway companies. Over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries these amalgamated or were bought by competitors until only a handful of larger companies remained.

The entire network was brought under government control during the First World War, and a number of advantages of amalgamation and planning were undertaken. From January 1, 1923, almost all the remaining companies were grouped into the "big four", the Great Western Railway, the London and North Eastern Railway, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and the Southern Railway companies (there were also a number of other joint railways such as the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway). The "Big Four" were joint-stock public companies and they continued to run the railway system until December 31,1947.

During the Second World War the companies' managements joined together, effectively forming one company. After 1945, for both practical and ideological reasons, the government decided to bring the rail service into the public sector.The mid-1950s saw the rapid introduction of diesel and electric rolling stock, but the expected transfer back from road to rail did not occur and losses began to mount. The desire for profitability led to a major reduction in the network during the mid-1960s lead to ICI manager Dr. Richard Beeching being given the task by the government of re-organising the railways.

Many branch lines were closed because they were deemed uneconomic, removing much feeder traffic from main line passenger services. The closure of many freight depots that had been used by larger industries such as coal and iron led to much freight transferring to road haulage.

Passenger services experienced a renaissance with the introduction of high-speed inter-city trains in the 1970s. Passenger levels have fluctuated since this time, increasing during periods of economic growth and falling during recessions. The 1980s saw severe cuts in government funding and above-inflation increases in fares, and the service became more cost-effective.

In the early 1990s the five geographical Regions were replaced by a Sector organisation, where passenger services were organised into Inter City, Network SouthEast, and Other Provincial Services sectors.

Railway operations were privatised during 1994-1997. Ownership of the track and infrastructure passed to Railtrack, whilst passenger operations were franchised to individual private sector operators (originally there were 25 franchises) and the freight services sold outright (six companies were set up, but five of these were sold to the same buyer).

The government claimed that privatisation would see an improvement in passenger services. Passenger levels have since increased to above the level they had been at in the late-1950s.

Most UK railway stations date from the Victorian era and are located on the edge of town centres. Major stations are generally in large cities, with a particular concentration in London, but some important railway junction stations lie in smaller cities.

ANI