Southall Inquiry

The remit of the Southall Inquiry was much more limited to investigating the causes of the particular accident. In some senses the Ladbroke Grove Inquiry overshadowed the Southall Inquiry, and this was certainly a complaint of the victims of the Southall accident. This was partly because the Southall Inquiry was delayed because of l al action (see below). However, the importance of the Southall accident should not be underestimated. The inquiry is important in its own right and it is possible that Ladbroke Grove would have prompted a less extensive response had Southall not preceded it. 

The Southall Inquiry reached a similar conclusion, attributing primary blame to one of the train drivers and secondary blame to the train operating company and to Railtrack for various failures (2000 88). The whole issue of accident investigation has been subject to difficulties as there has been increasing pressure to invoke the criminal law. It seems that the public is looking for more scapegoats, looking for someone to blame and prosecute. 

Unease with the risk management techniques used by the railway industry were apparent in the Southall and Ladbroke Grove inquiries. The Southall Inquiry is blunt in its criticism risk assessment procedures have been shown to produce variable results, which are seldom rigorous and sometimes questionable. No primary or secondary paper-based system is a substitute for common sense and commitment to the job (Uff 2000 208). The evidence given by the Director of HSE to the Ladbroke Grove Inquiry concentrates more specifically on problems in the methods and perspectives used ... 

The Ladbroke Grove accident prompted a more far-reaching inquiry than Southall. The terms of the inquiry for the Ladbroke Grove accident extend well beyond the specific accident, namely ... 

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