IN the wake of the Paddington rail tragedy, the Health and Safety Executive has ordered that the new Train Protection Warning System (TPWS) be installed on Merseyside.

This follows the revelation that drivers had driven through six red lights in the region in the past two years including two incidents at different signals in Earlestown in March and July this year.

A spokesman for Railtrack told the Star: "Fortunately neither of these occasions resulted in any incident of great importance. And whilst it is not acceptable, it is sometimes safe for a train to overshoot a red light by half a carriage length.

"We will be looking at starting to install the new TPWS system in April and safety of our passengers is of paramount importance."

The TPWS system will be installed at major junctions throughout the North West.

Local councillor Keith Deakin, who lives near to Earlestown Station, commented: "This latest revelation doesn't surprise me. A simple thing like the safety of the platform at Earlestown Station took years to get sorted, despite constant complaints from local Labour councillors.

"Any train going through a red light is of great importance, and should be treated as such, regardless of whether there is an incident or not."

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