The Wealdstone Tragedy
One thing the appalling railway accident at Wealdstone brings home to every traveller is the risk he runs every time he makes a journey by rail. Statistically it is almost infin- itesimal, but there is sufficient possibility of it to make the sympathy every traveller (which means nearly every citizen) must feel for the victims of the Wealdstone disaster very real and almost personal. On the disaster itself there can be no comment of any value till rigorous official enquiries have been carried out. That there has been tragic failure somewhere, either human or mechanical, is manifest. The one conclusion that would be completely inadmissible is that this kind of thing must inevitably happen occasionally. There is no justification for its ever happening. The human element in train control must be reinforced by the mechanical, and the mechanical by the human. Even the possibility that a driver may fail to see an adverse signal in mist or fog must be provided for, as it can be and in fact normally is. Automatic safety devices may be expensive, but if there is any expense not a penny of which can be grudged it is this. One hundred per cent. safety on the railways may not be attainable but much more than 99 per cent. can and must be achieved.
