Peer review: Ian Prosser
Director of Railway Safety, ORR
Britain’s railways remain one of the safest in Europe, but the industry cannot rest on its laurels - there are still areas such as workforce safety and crowd management in stations that require significant improvement and investment. The highest risk for passenger fatality and major injury is when getting on and off the train, or getting too close to the platform edge - the ‘platform train interface’ (PTI).
Until recently, reducing the PTI risk was handled by operators and infrastructure managers in separate ways. It was clear to ORR this was not working and that for the risk to be managed more effectively, a different approach was needed. ORR recognised that it was vital that the industry began to collaborate and understand the issues presented by a continuing growth in demand and develop a joint approach to addressing the challenges of designing and managing the PTI for the future.
This is why ORR has brought together operators and infrastructure managers to develop a strategy to cope with the pressures of growing passenger numbers and trains.
The RSSB’s PTI strategy marks the first industry-wide attempt to optimise the management of the PTI in terms of safety, operational performance and availability of access and provides the industry with an action plan for the key areas needing improvement, such as the optimum design for trains and platforms; agreed standards for train dispatch and station staff training; and promoting safe passenger behaviour with publicity and signage.
Since its launch, ORR’s inspectors have seen examples of best practice being shared and have reported improvements in PTI safety management. However, there is a considerable amount of work to do as the industry develops its understanding of the issues around safety on platforms, through improved data collection and analysis, and its extensive research programme.
For the strategy to succeed and for the rail industry to retain its credibility, train and infrastructure operators must engage with governments to deal with the longer-term issues, including the introduction of level access, gaps fillers and platform-edge doors. Some safety enhancement may only be reasonably practicable if implemented at the starting point of an infrastructure’s lifecycle, and therefore major infrastructure projects present significant opportunities to design out or reduce risks.
Good design decisions can improve safety for both passengers and railway staff in the construction, use, inspection and maintenance of both the new assets and the existing railway.
The high-level of fatality and major injury risk posed by PTI means ORR’s inspectors continue to inspect station passenger management plans closely for PTI management. This includes periodic visual inspections to ensure proactive management is effective. The future passenger crowding challenge means we must keep pushing operators’ to improve their capabilities on day-to-day crowding measures.
We are also focused on the design of new or additional infrastructure, stations and rolling stock, and engineering solutions to help reduce PTI risk. We want to ensure that interim asset management, risk mitigation standards and controls are implemented effectively. Looking ahead, it is essential that senior managers consider the potential for safety improvements as projects specification are scoped and budgeted – and this remains one of our long-term priorities.
