Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-28-Speech-4-130"
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"en.19991028.3.4-130"2
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"Mr President, it is absolutely crucial that we obtain some common regulations, offering a very high level of protection, governing the transport of dangerous goods by rail. The risk of accidents has increased concurrently with the growth in the number of consignments of this kind in recent years. I myself have experienced at close quarters a rail accident involving dangerous goods. A few years ago, a goods wagon containing poison overturned in my home town of Næstved, with catastrophic consequences. The dangerous liquid poured out. If there had been a powerful wind, thousands of people could have been poisoned. It was so serious that the team which cleared the track after the accident was clothed in what looked like space suits, which almost began to melt. I am therefore very glad that we in the EU are making a point of enforcing some very high standards in connection with this kind of transport.
The present directive states that the international regulations in this sphere also apply to transport within the individual Member States. Unfortunately, it was necessary to have a number of exceptions because the European experts had not finished drawing up standards for the transport of gas. The Member States were therefore given permission to keep their national regulations for a transitional period. The experts have still not completed their work, and the transitional arrangements ought therefore to be extended. I therefore think that we shall be voting for the report. In fact, it secures a high national level of protection which can be retained until such time as we get acceptable international regulations adopted. But we need to get a move on before a major accident occurs. We have been lucky. But for how long will our luck last, and for how long can we go on saying that we are getting by unscathed? One of these days, an accident will happen with disastrous consequences, and we shall be left with a bad taste in our mouths for not having got things organised. So let us make sure now that we get this matter sorted out properly."@en1
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