The report of the Southall rail accident inquiry, chaired by Professor John Uff, was published on 24 February 2000. It included 93 recommendations aimed at improving rail safety. The Action Plan details commitments made by all those organisations with responsibility for safety in the rail industry including those to whom Professor Uff directed recommendations.
All actions have time scales for completion or require timed programmes to be developed.
The public inquiry set up by the HSC was delayed by criminal proceedings and hearings finally took place between 20 September and 25 November 1999, with closing submissions on 20 December 1999. Industry has not waited before taking action on the recommendations, for instance Railtrack has already reclassified AWS failure as Category A prohibiting continued operation of the train, within the current rules. A full revision of the rules and Railway Group Standard will follow. However, further work remains to be done. The HSC is determined that action required to implement the recommendations in Professor Uff's report proceeds rapidly and for the actions to be tracked and progress reports received at regular intervals.