DRIVERS at beleaguered rail firm Arriva Trains Northern have been shamed as among the worst in the country for passing red signals.

New figures from the Railway Safety group reveal that Arriva drivers have an appalling SPAD record.

SPADs, or Signals Passed At Danger, are caused when drivers fail to stop at a red light.

The damaging figures from Railway Safety, which aims to increase public confidence in rail travel, show that ATN drivers committed 36 SPADs in the last full year.

That figure puts the company in second place in the rail operator league of shame, with only EWS committing more.

But more alarming are statistics which showed the SPAD rate per 100 drivers has increased dramatically year on year.

In 2000-01, 3.26 SPADs were recorded. Last year, this figure leapt to 5.25.

But Ray Price, managing director of Arriva, said the company was committed to providing safe and reliable rail services.

He said it should be appreciated that Arriva was running "one of the largest and most complex" franchises in the country.

Mr Price said: "All SPADs that occur are the subject of a full investigation. We are working closely with the Health & Safety Executive, Railway Safety and Railtrack and have also taken a number of steps within the company to address the issue.

"Over the last five years there has in fact been a reducing trend in SPADs. Five years ago, our SPAD rate was 45 - this has reduced to 36 in the most recent full year."

He added: "Drivers will continue to undergo thorough training and briefings on the causes of every SPAD and we are constantly reviewing the effectiveness of our action plan."

Fran Critchley, of the York-based Rail Passengers' Committee, said: "There is nothing for passengers to be alarmed about. If you look at rail safety compared with road safety, it is much safer to travel on the rails."

Peter Davies, Yorkshire chairman of pressure group Railfuture, said: "Passenger safety is one of our main concerns."

He said the group would be looking closely at the SPAD figures before commenting further.

Updated: 11:57 Wednesday, May 08, 2002