Dossier of train danger

Secret documents revealing what is really happening on London commuter lines, and the potential dangers to passengers, have been obtained by the Evening Standard.

Amid continuing concern over safety following the Potters Bar rail crash, and outrage over delays and shoddy services, we can reveal poor organisation and infrastructure on one of the busiest parts of the network.

Internal documents show how South Central services from Victoria, which carry 150,000 passengers a day, were affected by defective trains, poor signalling, bad communication and faulty points.

They reveal how one driver reported a signal his train was passing through suddenly switched from "clear" to "danger". Some trains failed to stop at stations they were meant to. One train was diverted because the driver did not know the original route.

Engineers had to repair one train's braking system and a "near miss" was reported when a train narrowly avoided killing an employee on the trackside. After that incident the driver was considered unfit to continue the journey.

The company was forced to adjust services and speeds because of defective rails. Some trains also set off without doors being properly shut.

The information relates to six days at the end of last month and beginning of this month. Some problems came under the responsibility of train operator South Central. But others relate to the condition of track and fall within Railtrack's area of responsibility.

A source within south Central said: "Morale is low because staffing is low. No more staff are expected to be recruited for some time. People are worn out doing 12 hour shifts. There are new trains coming but the current trains are old and there are not enough people available to make sure the trains run as safely as they could.

"We are constantly confronted by the public because services are unreliable. Railtrack's contractors are told about faults but there is so much for them to do they are quite stretched."

The South Central franchise is owned by Govia, which took over from Connex in August 2001.

Last year the franchise was fined nearly £10 million, virtually all of that due to poor timekeeping.

Govia is now negotiating with the Strategic Rail Authority to take on a new 20-year franchise. In March Govia completed an £856 million order for 182 new trains - the biggest order on the privatised railways. There will be 154 new Electrostar 375 trains each of four carriages and 28 trains of three carriages. They will replace much older slam-door trains.

A South Central spokesman said: "We are fully committed to improving the service. Running a safe and reliable railway is our top priority and we are working hard towards improving safety, including the problem of open doors on some trains."

Six days of despair