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Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin (right) and Lord Cullen
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Rail accidents investigation unit open in Farnborough

By Tim Harris
November 14, 2012

MORE jobs will arrive in Farnborough following the opening of the new branch of a rail safety organisation.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP officially opened the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) facility, based in Berkshire Copse Road, last Thursday (November 8).

With another branch in Derby, Mr McLoughlin described the new RAIB base in Farnborough as the "ideal location for it to serve the nation".

Mr McLoughlin said: “I am very pleased, I am delighted. I think this will be significant for the future of transport in this country.

“More and more people travel with trains, and rail services are used by people in Farnborough.

“Quite often the biggest challenge is to give that assurance that safety is continuously being looked at. We need that reassurance for the public.

“I hope the role of this organisation will lead to that, and also flag up accidents before they happen.”

Andrew Lloyd, chief executive of Rushmoor Borough Council, added: “This is fantastic, this brings jobs and it enhances Farnborough and Rushmoor's reputation.

“It is massive as the RAIB is now recruiting local people to add to their overall establishment. It is more jobs coming into the borough - and that is important for us.”

The new home for the RAIB is called Cullen House, named after Lord Cullen, and the new site is right next door to fellow safety organisation the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

Carolyn Griffiths, chief inspector for the RAIB, said it would be "completely wrong" if there was not a synergy between the two.

“Being right next to the AAIB will give us that communication between the two branches,” she said.

“The clear purpose of this is that we have the advantage of working together - we can share case history, and we can share resources. It is good to be here in the south east.”

Sir Gerald Howarth, MP for Aldershot and Farnborough, added: “What we have now got here is a centre of accident excellence. There are potential synergies between the RAIB and the AAIB.

“I think this is a confidence in Farnborough as a location for a hugely important agency which will have an increasingly important role in assuring travel safety for all of us.”

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Most recent user comments 4 of 4

Retired of Aldershot: I wonder if we might be seeing the first public airing of the new "Manual of justifications and excuses for top civil servants". The old manual had been around for some time (pre Blair I think)and obviously someone at the top was begining to see signs that the plebs were just starting to see through the old justifications and excuses. Hence the re-write.

It is good news for Farnborough though.

BlisteringBarnacles! Hoverboards!!! Wow, the North is even more behind than I thought. Must sign off now, I need to beam myself over to Waitrose to pick up some h'orderves for our soiree ;-)

pjt
16/11/2012 at 10:40

Excellent. Can they investigate the train crash that is Farnborough Town Access Plan?

Mr Jaggers, Farnborough
15/11/2012 at 08:43

Sounds sensible that the two accident investigation branches are (almost) co-located.

Whilst one would like to think of them both having nothing to do, the output of the forensic side of AAIB is incredible and world leading - from their analysis of the Comet crashes in the 50s to the Concorde in Paris, their expertise is sought throughout the world.

Like Blistering, I found it illogical to cite Farnbrough as an ideal location because it had a train station used by the public - but such is life where politicians will plug their message at every opportunity.

It does appear the SIR James Gerald Douglas Howarth is indeed a knght batchelor as Her Brittanic Majesty approved the knighthood on 20th September. (See prime minister's web site).

He may not have been dubbed yet (Please Elizabeth keep your hand steady) but he can use the title from that date.

Retired of Aldershot, Aldershot
14/11/2012 at 16:36

This is great news for Rushmoor's economy. I like how the reason they give for Farnborough being an ideal location is that "rail services are used by people in Farnborough." That criteria alone excludes most other towns, where alternative methods of travelling from A to B are frequently used over trains. Here in Sheffield, for example, we have something called a 'hover bike'.

And he's not 'Sir' Gerald.