The Health and Safety Executive's annual report on railway safety says four rail staff died in 2004/5, down from nine the previous year. Three of the deaths in 2004/5 were track workers, down from six the year before.

Major injuries were down to 301, from 347 in 2003/04. There were 1,433 injuries requiring more than three consecutive days sick leave, down from 1,946 the previous year.

HSE director of rail safety, Dr Allan Sefton, commented: 'The decision by Network Rail to bring maintenance 'in-house' is without a doubt an opportunity to improve track risk management and we are already seeing some positive results of this change in policy. A fresh approach and focus on the management of risk and real changes to the culture of risk management in the boardrooms of Network Rail and train operating companies should be recognised and encouraged.'

Assaults on staff also fell, to 231 from 263 in 2003/2004. Rail unions had called for maintenance to be taken in-house as a safety measure, a move agreed by Network Rail in November 2003 (Risks 130). The report will be the last on Britain's railways to be published by HSE, as responsibility transfers from HSC/E to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) around the end of 2005. TUC and unions were critical of the creation of ORR (Risks 164), which they say could face possible conflicts of interest as it is responsible for policing both the safety and commercial performance of the railways (Risks 165).

*HSE?s Annual Report on the safety record of the railways in Great Britain during 2004.