TSSA backs Anas Sarwar’s call for High Speed Trains on ScotRail to be scrapped

TSSA today (Thursday) backed Anas Sarwar’s call for ScotRail to replace “museum piece” High Speed Trains (HSTs), like that involved in the Carmont accident, with trains that meet modern safety requirements.

The Scottish Labour Leader used First Minister’s Question Time at Holyrood today to urge Nicola Sturgeon to scrap the HSTs which first saw service in the 1970s.

TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes said, “The RAIB report is crystal clear when it says, “the outcome would have been better if the train had been compliant with modern crashworthiness standards". Those standards have been with us since 1994 – twenty-eight years. It is devastating to think that a different train might have given us a better outcome.

“Back in 1975 the HSTs were a great feat of British engineering. Almost 50 years on, they fail to provide the 21st Century crashworthiness and safety that Scotland's passengers deserve. These museum pieces should have been retired a long time ago.

“Sturgeon’s defence of the HSTs at this point is shocking given what the RAIB report says. She needs to urgently rethink her position and make a decision in the interest of Scottish passenger safety.

“What ScotRail needs now is replacement trains, designed and built to modern crashworthiness standards. That’s what Scottish passengers should have had in 2018, when the HSTs were leased.

“At the very least, ScotRail should take their HST fleet out of service until the potential corrosion problems identified by the RAIB have been checked and, where necessary, rectified. Of course, this is going to be an expensive operation, but what price human life?”