RSSB launches platform-train interface strategy

A strategy has been launched to “ensure that the railway is in the best position to handle the operational and engineering challenges for capacity and safety at the platform-train interface”.

The Rail Safety and Standards Board says that the platform-train interface (PTI) hosts 21% of the risk of harm, including injury or death to passengers, and 48% of the risk of fatal harm.

The PTI includes platform edge incidents, both when boarding or alighting from a train and when a train is not present. Incidents can be caused by a number of factors, including the movement of passengers, train dispatch and stopping positions, accessibility issues, engineering and performance.

RSSB has acted after high-profile incidents such as the death of 16-year-old Georgia Varley at Liverpool’s James Street station in 2011 - she fell through the gap between the train and the platform after the guard had dispatched the train.

Its strategy is the result of a ‘task and finish’ group established by RSSB in December 2013, to investigate PTI risk and develop ways in which the industry would manage the “complex interface”.

• For more on this story, read RAIL 768, published on February 18