MPs yesterday called for a new transport watchdog to be set up immediately with overall responsibility for rail, air, road and sea safety, in the wake of the Paddington rail disaster.
The deputy prime minister, John Prescott, was urged to take the step "without delay" in a report by the Commons transport select committee.
It said that the new body should be given "robust powers" to regulate and investigate, and to punish individuals or firms breaching safety.
If implemented, the recommendation would amount to a complete overhaul of the transport safety regime, currently carried out on an industry-by-industry basis.
The committee, chaired by the Labour veteran, Gwyneth Dunwoody, MP for the rail town of Crewe, said that the authority would take over the safety role of the railway inspectorate, the Civil Aviation Authority, the marine accident investigation branch, and even the British Transport Police.
It echoed the views of Mr Prescott that Railtrack should be stripped of its role in safety regulation because of an "anomalous" conflict with its commercial interests. But instead of transferring powers to the strategic railway authority, due be set up formally next year, or the rail regulator, Tom Windsor, the MPs believe that the most practical and sensible solution woud be a new overarching safety body.
They say that it should be properly funded, possibly through a levy on its users such as the rail companies and airlines, and have the power to investigate accidents whenever they occur.
The government is already committed to act on rail safety, and is almost certain to take the responsibility for investigating accidents out of the hands of the railway inspectorate.
But the committee's wide-ranging proposals for the whole of the transport industry may be too complicated for ministers to act quickly.
The MPs say that the strategic rail authority, under the chairmanship of Sir Alastair Morton, should publish regular reports on the performance and investment record of the 25 train operating companies and Railtrack.
