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Research and Reports
A database of documents and reports released by industry bodies. You can download the document by clicking on its title, and can filter reports by author or subject. If you have a report you would like to submit to the Rail Hub, please email [email protected].
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Annual Safety Performance Report: A reference guide to safety trends on GB railways
01/07/2016Rail Safety Standards Board SearchResearchItemsNobody died in train accidents in 2015/2016 - and there were no workforce fatalities for the first time. However, there were 45 “accidental fatalities”, eight of which were passengers, with the other 37 members of the public. Of those, 30 were trespassers. Also, the rate of ‘passenger harm’ increased, even when normalised for increasing passenger journeys. Harm to the workforce and members of the public fell, however. The RSSB reports that the year “saw improvements in many of the main measures”. However it also states that “clear challenges” exist “such as managing risk at the platform edge, and managing assaults on trains and in stations.”
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RSSB Annual Safety Performance Report
21/07/2015Rail Safety Standards Board SearchResearchItems2014/15 saw no passenger or workforce deaths in train accidents for the eighth successive year. However, there were fatalities: three passengers died in stations, the same number of workers died (two in road accidents, the other being electrocuted) - and there were 326 public fatalities. Of those, ten happened at level crossings, 22 were trespassers - and 293 were suicides or suspected suicides. The other one is recorded as assault. That was against a backdrop of 1.66bn passenger journeys - 4% up on 2013/14. It means that using the train is roughly 20 times safer than using the car - and the UK’s railway also fares well internationally. “The most recent comparison available from the European Rail Agency puts GB rail as the top of the ranking for passenger and workforce fatality rates, and our level crossing performance is the best in Europe,” says the report. “But good performance is not a signal for complacency.” With the passenger fatalities in 2014/15 all having taken place at stations, there is now an industry focus on the ‘platform-train interface’ (PTI). A PTI strategy was launched in January, and there is now dedicated implementation group, chaired by Network Rail.
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Tomorrow's Railway and Climate Change Adaptation: Work Package 1
01/07/2015Rail Safety Standards Board SearchResearchItemsHotter, drier summers, milder, wetter winters, more frequent and intense extreme weather events and higher sea levels will affect the resilience of the whole railway system. Phase 1 of the project surveyed the possible effects of changing weather patterns on Britain’s railway as part of an industry-wide attempt to assess and mitigate risk by anticipating future challenges. By looking at the potential problems now, industry is planning ahead to consider future changes to its approach to railway design and operations. This first phase has identified over 120 recommendations relating to increasing the resilience of the railway and its various sub-systems in the short, medium and long term; with 10 key recommendations highlighted as priorities following consultation with GB rail experts.
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Platform train interface strategy
01/01/2015Rail Safety Standards Board SearchResearchItemsIncidents at the platform train interface account for almost half of the total passenger fatality risk on the mainline railway network, and about one-fifth of the overall passenger fatality and weighted injury risk.
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Monthly SPAD/TPWS Update
01/12/2014Rail Safety Standards Board SearchResearchItemsAt the end of December 2014, the underlying level of SPAD risk was estimated to be 61% of the Sep 2006 baseline.
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Overview of safety performance for 2014
01/12/2014Rail Safety Standards Board SearchResearchItemsAt 292, the number of SPADs in 2014 was 2% higher than the 285 occurring in 2013.
