THE Lewes crash immediately intensified concerns about rail safety.

It came just 13 days after the train crash near Paddington, London, which claimed at least 30 lives.

That accident occurred after a Thames train passed a signal at red and hit a First Great Western express head-on. There were suggestions that a signal might also have been passed at red before last night's crash.

In 1998-99 there were more than 600 signals passed at danger - a big increase on the previous year.

Since Paddington the Government has been determined to get to the bottom of the danger signal problem.

Last week, it said it was "minded" to take away Railtrack's safety resp-onsibility and pass it to an independent body, though the Health and Safety Commission said it did not think Railtrack's safety regime had led to major problems.

Tonight's accident will reinforce calls for the swift introduction of some form of automatic train protection system.

After the Clap-ham rail disaster, which claimed 35 lives in December 1988, an inquiry recommended the network-wide inst-allation of a sophisticated and expensive system called Automatic Train Protection (ATP). But it was ruled out on a national basis on cost grounds, although a trial system remains on both Great Western and Chiltern lines.

Last summer the Government ann-ounced that a cheaper system, called Train Protection Warning System (TPWS), would be introduced by the end of 2003.

The initial report into Paddington by the Health and Safety Executive said TPWS would have prevented the Thames train passing a red light.

Deputy Prime Minister John Pres-cott has said that cash will be no obstacle to getting the best system and ATP would be introduced if it was the Paddington inquiry recommended it.

Introducing ATP nationwide could cost more than

£1 billion. TPWS system would cost about £190 million.

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