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Grand Central told to improve safety systems
RAIL operator Grand Central has been ordered to improve its safety management systems by industry regulators.
The order was made by Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), although the railway company insisted its trains and operations were safe.
The news comes after the Sunderland to London service was hit by a series of problems.
An ORR spokesman said Grand Central had until September 1 to comply with the notice or other measures could be taken.
A Grand Central spokesman said the company took the improvement notice very seriously and had already instituted measures to address the concerns raised.
He added: "However, this does not mean that the ORR believes our services or trains to be unsafe. Had they thought this to be the case a number of other options were open to them.
"The improvement notice requires Grand Central to address specific issues relating to our safety management system by September 1.
"We are working closely with our suppliers and expect to be fully compliant by that date."
The proposal for the Sunderland to London service came in 2005 and the service was expected to start running in December of that year.
But plans ran into fierce opposition from the then East Coast operator GNER before the ORR finally gave the go-ahead.
The first Grand Central finally ran on the route in December last year, but the service had to be suspended just days later when its only train broke down.
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Weather for Sunderland
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
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Wind direction: South
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Light rain
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