RAIL safety came under the spotlight at a Swindon trade union meeting in the wake of the latest crash at Hatfield.

Creating an independent train safety watchdog, re-nationalising the railways, and making rail bosses accountable for accidents are the measures being called for by the Swindon Trades Union Council.

The council met last night at Eastcott Community Centre in Savernake Street to discuss rail safety.

Speaking at the meeting was Carol Bell, vice chairwoman of Safety on Trains Action Group, as well as Martin Wicks, a member of Swindon RMT, the railway workers union.

The groups want to see Automatic Train Protection systems installed on every line, instead of the proposed Train Protection Warning Systems, which only stops trains slower than 74 miles per hour.

They also want the national law to be changed so that corporate manslaughter charges can be brought against rail bosses, so that they are compelled to improve safety and not just blame it on individual errors.

The groups would also like to see the railways re-nationalised so that the profit motive is removed, as well as a new independent rail safety watchdog set up which has no vested interest in profits itself.

Miss Bell, who was a train passenger with her family in the Southall rail crash in 1997, said: "I don't believe that the train operators or Railtrack can continue to ignore safety in favour of profits. A life is worth so much more."

"In this country we should be striving for one of the safest railways in the world, instead we have one which is of a Third World standard."