Railways (Higham Tunnel)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 17 April 1967.

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Photo of Sir Frederick Burden Sir Frederick Burden , Gillingham 12:00, 17 April 1967

I wish to raise the matter of conditions in Higham Tunnel, which has been causing considerable concern to many people using the South-Eastern Region of British Rail. It has not only affected their convenience on several occasions but might well affect their safety.

On 28th November last, a Gillingham to Chatham train ran into a heap of chalk which had fallen on to the line in Higham Tunnel. I understand—this has not been denied by British Rail—that this was one of at least four major falls of chalk in the last 10 or 12 years. Both the track and the train suffered minor damage, and the train was delayed for about three hours. A British Rail spokesman later said, "This tunnel is safe." But, as a result of the incident, newspapers in the Medway Towns and other Kent towns expressed grave concern for the safety of trains using the tunnel, as did many people who travel on the line. I have representations from many people in my constituency. Railmen questioned about the tunnel are alleged to have said that, unless improvements are made, there will be a major disaster.

Even if we assume to be correct, the view of the railway spokesman that the tunnel is safe, it cannot be denied that travellers on this and other trains suffered gross inconvenience as the result of the fall of chalk. The train was delayed for about three hours. British Railways have said nothing to suggest that there will be no such delays in future. Surely they cannot just sit back and adopt the attitude of "So what? Let us wait and see what happens."

Is there only a threat of delay to passengers, or is there a threat to their safety? I submit that there is a grave and real danger, which is why I have pressed for this debate. On 23rd December last, I wrote to the Minister of Transport: I think I should bring to your attention the condition of the Higham railway tunnel on the South Eastern region of British Railways.About two weeks ago I gather there was a fall at the tunnel and as a result a considerable disruption of traffic.Since then, a statement has been made that it is now 'completely safe', but at the same time it is understood that a 24-hour watch is being kept in case of any falls of rubble. This, say British Rail, is because of 'the nature of its construction.' A very old tunnel, it is, apparently, 'less supported' than modern tunnels.All of which, I think you will agree, implies an inherent danger. I cannot see how if the tunnel is really safe it is necessary to keep a 24-hour watch. What a waste of manpower! If it is safe surely there is no need for such a watch, and if it is unsafe something should be done about it before there is a serious accident. I should be grateful if you will look into the matter. On 8th February, the Joint Parliamentary Secretary, whom I am grateful to see on the Government Front Bench to reply, wrote to me: As promised by my Private Secretary on 9th January"— I was grateful to the hon. Gentleman for having let me know that the delay was due to investigations which were going on— I am now able to reply to your letter of 23rd December about Higham Tunnel on the South Eastern Region of British Railways.I have now received a report from the British Railways Board about the recent accident in the tunnel and its condition.On 28th November, at approximately 4.38 p m., a train from Gillingham to Charing Cross ran into a heap of chalk which had fallen from the roof of the tunnel. The chalk was removed and the line reopened to traffic at 7.10 p.m. No one was hurt and only minor damage was done to the train and track.The Board say that this tunnel was constructed about 150 years ago for the Gravesend-Strood canal but it was taken over for railway purposes in the 1850s. Parts of the tunnel are unlined and in these places the chalk is exposed to the atmosphere. Because of these circumstances, it has been the practice since before the memory of the present engineering staff to carry out a 24-hour patrol. This is in addition to the annual inspections and special inspections which are made when there are any signs of deterioration in the chalk surface.Proposals for erecting protective works in the more vulnerable parts of the tunnel are being considered by the railway officials but the costs ale likely to be very high. The Minister went on to say—and this is an extremely significant paragraph: Perhaps I should add that 24-hour patrols are carried out in places where rock falls"— I repeat that, "where rock falls"— might constitute a hazard, even though these occurrences are fairly infrequent. Our officials are satisfied that the Board are taking all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of traffic on this line. Let us consider the Minister's letter. It makes it clear that there is danger not only of further falls of chalk, but of falls of rock, in unlined parts of the tunnel and that because of this danger it is the established practice to carry out annual investigations of the tunnel—I should certainly hope that every tunnel on British Railways is examined at least once a year, whatever its condition and however new it might be—and, in addition, a 24-hour patrol is maintained at Higham tunnel. That action alone is surely the real measure of the danger of falls and the necessity to maintain a round-the-clock patrol.

The incident of 28th November clearly emphasises and highlights, as the Minister must agree, that the existing arrangements are completely inadequate, because, whatever other precautions might be taken, the patrol procedure failed com- pletely to prevent the train from running into a heap of chalk of considerable size which brought it to a standstill at 4.38 in the afternoon.

It is indeed fortunate that on that occasion there was no loss of life or injury to passengers and that neither train nor track suffered much damage; but this was not due to any precautions taken by British Rail, because the train actually ran into the pile of chalk despite the precautions. Presumably, there was no great accident because the chalk was soft and the train either ploughed through it or brushed it aside. But what if it had been a fall of rock, which the Minister in his letter to me says is a danger? The result then might have been not merely a three-hour delay, but death or injury for many people.

In the circumstances, it was not surprising that I again wrote to the Minister on 13th February, when I said: Thank you for your letter of 8th February about the safety of Higham Tunnel. I am sure that a little reflection will convince you of the complete inadequacy of your reply. Those are rather strong words but I felt them to be justified. In view of the fact that the precautions did not stop the train running into the pile of chalk, perhaps the Minister will today recast his thoughts about the matter.

I went on to say: It is perfectly clear that if the '24-hour patrol' of the tunnel is to have any real value, it must ensure that the whole length of the tunnel is kept permanently under observation. This is because it is clear that a fall of chalk could take place at any time and without warning.You have stated in your letter that proposals for erecting protective works in the more vulnerable parts of the tunnel are being considered but the cost would be very high. This may be so, but so, too, must it be very costly to maintain a constant 24-hour watch on the tunnel. Above all, the safety of the travellers on the South-Eastern line of British Railways must be the first consideration. Your letter makes it perfectly clear that the tunnel at present constitutes a hazard, and I trust you will look at the position from that point of view. The Minister replied to that letter in his usual courteous if rather frank terms. He disagreed with some of the points I had made, no doubt on the advice of British Rail. He replied on 28th February, when he said: Thank you for your letter of 13th February … My letter of 8th February was written after due consideration of all the relevant factors and I could not agree that it was completely inadequate. He went on to say: There is a hazard here, as there is at many other places on the railway. The Chief Inspecting Officer of Railways, Colonel McMullen, has at my request considered the case carefully. He tells me that the only way of eliminating chalk falls entirely in the unlined part of the tunnel, which is less than half its full length, would be to line it throughout. This would, however, be an extremely costly business and he does not consider that the expense, which might approach £½ million, would be justified. When one considers that Government expenditure is going up this year by over £600 million, £½ million is not a great deal to ensure the safety of a train in a tunnel which is suspect.

The Minister went on to say: He considers that the Board are taking all reasonable steps, by inspection, to anticipate chalk falls and, by regular patrolling, to ensure that if a fall does occur, it does not endanger trains. We are, therefore, satisfied that the hazard is an acceptable one. Must I go all through the analysis again? Must I point out that the patrols did not anticipate the fall in question, that despite the patrol the train actually collided with the chalk which had fallen on to the line, that it was delayed for about three hours and that there was minor damage—thank God that it was only minor damage—to the train and to the track?

We are, therefore, satisfied that the hazard is an acceptable one", says the Minister. I very much doubt whether the hazard is acceptable.

My final letter on the subject went to the Minister on 20th March. I am sure that the fact that he has not replied was due to our having this debate today. He will, no doubt, deal with my letter in general context and, perhaps, particularise on some of the points I made.

This is a very busy tunnel. I am informed that about 160 passenger and goods trains pass through Higham Tunnel during every 24 hours. Trains passing through the tunnel during the rush-hour periods in the morning and evening can carry as many as 1,000 passengers. The danger to such a train is the ultimate extent of what is described by British Railways and the hon. Gentleman as an "acceptable hazard." Quite apart from the main incident to which I have referred and the other major falls of chalk, British Railways' spokesmen have admitted that patrolmen are constantly clearing minor falls along the track.

I understand that there is only one patrol man on duty at any time. I do not intend any reflection on those patrolmen, but it may be that, on the occasion which has given rise to this debate, the man on duty was off having a cup of tea or was away for a moment when the fall occurred. That could happen if there is only one man on duty at any time. In any case, he could be two miles away from a fall, but, even if he was near the spot at the time, according to railwaymen, he has only about three minutes to raise the alarm, and it is obvious that no adequate alarm was raised on 28th November.

Railwaymen on the job feel that a part solution would be to install floodlights, so that motormen do not have to drive blind through the tunnel. Undoubtedly that would be an improvement on the present arrangements. They also suggest that klaxon horns could be installed on trains so that warning could be given to signalmen if a fall was struck, although it might be too late for that train and the passengers. The value of a klaxon would be difficult to determine if the train had ploughed into a pile of rubble and there was great damage, injury and perhaps loss of life. Railwaymen using the tunnel have suggested that corrugated sheets could be laid inside the walls and reinforced with concrete. I gather that that was done at Sevenoaks Tunnel some years ago.

If there is a crash in this tunnel, it does not need very much imagination to get a view of the chaos which could be created and the difficulty which would arise in treating and removing the injured and, in extreme cases, the dead. Do British Railways dare to say that that is not a possibility, in view of the fact that, despite all their present arrangements and precautions, on 28th November last a train actually ran into a major fall of chalk in the tunnel?

Early last February, a British Railways spokesman said that engineers are actively aware of the present conditions, which are being closely watched. He declared that the safety aspect is fully covered. That is just not true. He went on to say that patrolmen, are carrying out a 24-hour watch, and so they were in November of last year. But what guarantee is there? Nothing else can be accepted than a complete guarantee from British Railways that no such incident will occur in future and that the precautions that they take will be such that there cannot be a recurrence of an incident similar to that which took place on 28th November.

In view of the very grave concern which exists and in the interests of rail travellers, British Railways and the hon. Gentleman's Ministry, I hope that he will agree this morning to appoint a highly-qualified and completely independent engineer to examine and report on the position with the utmost speed. I hope also that he will give an undertaking that any proposals for improving the safety of the tunnel which he might suggest will be put in hand without delay, even if the cost is £500,000. Better still, perhaps he will give an undertaking that British Railways will at once proceed to carry out any action which may be necessary to remove the hazard which exists at the moment to all trains using the tunnel. I should be happy to accept that even in preference to asking a highly-qualified independent engineer to examine the position.

It may be that the hon. Gentleman thinks that I should have examined the tunnel, as did the hon. Member for Rochester and Chatham (Mrs. Anne Kerr). In the circumstances, if time permits, I hope that the hon. Lady will be able to say a word about this. The hon. Gentleman may consider that I should have looked myself, but I hope that the hon. Lady will forgive me if I say that I set my face firmly against that, because I could see no great value in examining Higham Tunnel with a lamp. I am not a highly-qualified engineer, and I could not give a qualified opinion of the conditions in that tunnel. I felt that it was far better to raise the matter on the Adjournment, produce the facts, and let the highly-qualified people get down to discussion and action to put matters right.

I believe that the facts speak sufficiently clearly, because neither I nor any other unqualified person could discount the mass of evidence which emphasises the danger which has caused me to raise the matter this morning.

May I make this observation? Cars have to be examined every three years to ensure that they are roadworthy. The Minister of Transport quite properly has now laid down that every car manufacturer shall install safety belts on all new cars. These are quite proper regulations to improve the safety of passengers and others. Then there are the most elaborate and exacting regulations to ensure that aircraft are safe. However, a train crash can involve many more people than are likely to be carried by other means of transport, and I submit that the same standards of safety must be enforced on our railways. Where there is a hazard such as exists in Higham Tunnel which can be removed even at the cost of £500,000, it is far better that it should be done than that there should be any danger to trains running through that tunnel.