Safety row on 125mph trains

13 April 2012

Second-hand brake parts are being used on 125mph trains, sparking a major new row over safety.

Train drivers' union Aslef, which revealed the practice following the discovery of maintenance records, condemned it as "putting lives in danger".

Operator First Great Western confirmed it is using "partially-used or partly-worn brake pads" on its Class 180 Adelante high-speed fleet, which operates between Paddington and the South-West, Bristol, South Wales and the Cotswolds. They have been used for the last five years and there had been no known "adverse effects," the company said. FGW, whose parent company FirstGroup is on course to make a £91 million profit from its UK train operations this year, said it is an "established and safe practice" to re-use part-worn brake pads.

The five-carriage trains carry up to 300 passengers. Andy Reed, Aslef 's national organiser, said: "It is absolutely disgraceful. It just beggars belief that FGW is fitting part-worn brakes to trains which operate at up to 125mph.

"This is putting lives in danger and those responsible must be brought to book. We are demanding this practice be stopped immediately along with a full investigation into how and why it was allowed to happen in the first place."

The practice of fitting old brake pads was revealed in an internal maintenance document from an un-named production team leader and leaked to Aslef.

It states: "Please note there is a box of 180 brake pads which are part worn. Please get these pads used up when changing on any weekly 'S' exams only."

Stan Moran, Aslef's West of England representative, said: "This is the first we have heard of this. You would not use old, part-worn brake pads on a car so why use them on high-speed trains carrying 300 people?"

The union is now demanding that all instances of disciplinary action taken against drivers who have overshot stations or signals be reopened to see if braking was at fault.

A FGW spokesman said: "The practice is within safe tolerances and is deemed safe and acceptable. It is standard practice when changing wheels and brakes on the trains to re-use safe, usable brake pads."

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