On the eve of the anniversary of the 1999 crash, RMT has renewed its call for Automatic Train Protection, the retention of independent safety regulation and the enactment of a corporate manslaughter law.

"Automatic Train Protection was promised after the Clapham disaster in 1988, yet in 2005 we are still no nearer getting it," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"ATP would have prevented the Ladbroke Grove crash and saved 31 lives - but Thames Trains had decided not to install it on grounds of cost.

"After Ladbroke Grove Lord Cullen said that regulation of rail safety should be put in independent hands to avoid it being 'captured' by vested commercial interests.

"Yet the government is throwing that into reverse and handing responsibility back to an industry still dominated by private sector interests motivated by cutting costs and maximising profits rather than improving safety.

"A host of other recommendations from Cullen have either been shelved or watered down.

"Where is the central driver and signaller licensing system and joint training scheme? What has happened to the statutory duty to comply with railway group standards? Where is the commitment to ensure that unions play a significant role in safety management?

"At Ladbroke Grove the guard played a crucial role, recognised by Cullen - yet those duties had just been removed from the rule-book and we are still fighting constant attempts by the privateers to downgrade the guard's safety role.

"RMT will continue to campaign for robust and independent regulation of safety - and a corporate manslaughter law that holds to account bosses whose negligence results in unnecessary deaths," Bob Crow said.