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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 6 (October 1, 1927)

The Safety of Railway Travel

The Safety of Railway Travel.

Some striking figures bearing on the safety of rail travel as compared with other modes of transport were given by Sir Felix Pole, General Manager of the Great Western Railway at the Hammersmith Rotary Club's luncheon some few weeks ago. Though the reference was specifically to British rail and road accident records, the fact (as published in our last issue) that the New Zealand Railways are regarded for safety insurance purposes as being better by 300 per cent. than the next safest mode of conveyance, gives Sir Felix Pole's words considerable local application. Of the fifteen hundred million passengers carried last year by the British railway companies only four met with fatal injury. During the previous year not one passenger was killed although seventeen hundred millions were carried-a number almost equalling the entire population of the world! In striking contrast to this great safety achievement of the railways, the risks of road travel in Britain during the same period were such that no less than 4,703 people were killed and 121,705 injured.