The HSC is disappointed that more has not been achieved to date

HSC

Lord Cullen, who headed a report published last September into improving the railways, made recommendations and put a one-year timescale for their completion.

He outlined a series of safety measures after the Paddington rail crash which claimed 31 lives in 1999.

Lord Cullen called for improvements to the selection process of contractors and better checks on their work.

He called on Railtrack to take a more hands-on approach to the day-to-day management of work to ensure safety standards were constant regardless of whether contractors or permanent staff were on duty.

Industry challenge

But on Monday the HSC said: "Work on a number of recommendations covering the important area of managing contractors will continue beyond Lord Cullen's proposed timescale.

"While recognising the scale of the challenge in an industry where around 110,000 people are employed by 1,500 different organisations, the HSC is disappointed that more has not been achieved to date."

The question of contractors arose after the October 2000 derailment at Hatfield in which four people died.

Lord Cullen made recommendations after the Paddington rail crash

Contractors were working on that particular stretch of track and it formed the second part of Lord Cullen's report.

The HSC made the announcement as it discussed progress made in implementing the Cullen report and Professor John Uff's recommendations after the 1997 Southall crash in which seven people died.

The HSC said the great majority of recommendations in the Southall inquiry - published in February 2002 - had been implemented.

Mr Byers said: :"The government and the rail industry cannot afford to be complacent.

"Rail remains one of the safest forms of travel and it's vital that we continue to ensure that this remains so."