Rail Professional: Opinion Katie Silvester, editor


Could level crossings be safer?


The collision between a National Express East Anglia unit and a tanker on a level crossing in Suffolk in August (see page 8) serves to remind us how ever-present the dangers of level crossings are. The RMT rail union has been campaigning for some years to eliminate all level crossings from the rail network, replacing them with underpasses


or bridges. It’s a nice idea, but with a price tag of approximately £1m per bridge or underpass, it would cost close to £8bn to get rid of the approximately 7,600 level crossings that Britain has. Network Rail replaces level crossings with bridges from time to time anyway, but a programme for removing the whole lot has not been seriously considered. There were 13 accidental fatalities at level crossings in 2009. But the bigger problem,


from the railway’s point of view, is collisions that derail trains, such as Ufton Nervet. So what more can be done to make level crossings safer, short of getting rid of them altogether? Network Rail has done some great awareness-raising work, both with national campaigns


and local ones focusing on individual crossings. There are also small safety improvements that can be made to tackle particular problems at individual crossings. Sadly, these changes are often only made after a fatality. When a woman walking her dog was killed in Staines in 2008, after slipping and falling on a level crossing when a train was approaching, Network Rail quickly added a non-slip surface to the crossing. But Her Majesty’s Rail Inspectorate had requested that a non-slip covering be added three years before the accident, and the request was not acted upon. The majority of accidents are caused by level crossing misuse, rather than minor safety


adjustments being overlooked, with the classic – and most dramatic – examples being vehicle drivers ignoring lights or dodging around barriers when a train is approaching. Rail Professional wholeheartedly supports Network Rail’s efforts to get sentences increased and driving bans imposed for the worst level crossing misuse. On footpath crossings, statistics analysed by Stanley Hall and Peter Van Der Mark for their book Level Crossings (Ian Allan) show that the involvement of bicycles and dogs is often a factor in a fatality on a crossing. Failing to see a second train coming in the opposite direction after waiting for the first train to pass is a common scenario. There are also a disproportionate number of elderly people killed and, as with road pedestrians, alcohol consumption can sometimes be a factor. A case could certainly be made for more signage with detailed safety messages at crossings. Some crossings already have such warnings, but not all do. But most of this is just tinkering at the edges; the problem is not likely to go away.


As long as there are level crossings, there will be accidents from time to time. Safety has improved over the years, though. In the five years between 1888-92, 369 people died at level crossings in Britain. Today, Britain’s level crossings compare favourably to those of many other countries, safety-wise – while 13 people died on crossings here last year, 248 people died crossing railways in the USA. And if deaths at level crossings are viewed in the context of deaths on the roads, the figures look a bit different. There were 2,538 deaths on the roads in 2008, of which only 15 occurred at level crossings.


l Katie Silvester is the Seahorse feature journalist of the year 2009


PAGE 4 SEPTEMBER 2010


News in brief


Lightning measures to be reviewed


RAIB has recommended that Eurostar reviews design and maintenance of a lighting arrester following an overhead line failure at St Pancras International on 23 September 2009. Network Rail has been advised to review control room procedures and examine risk control. ABB Power has been urged to assess some quality management processes.


Makeover for Bolton


Bolton station is to get a £4m upgrade under the DfT’s National Stations Improvement Programme, aimed at updating 150 medium-sized stations in England and Wales. The booking office will be refitted, toilets will be refurbished and lighting and floors replaced as part of the upgrade.


ScotRail scores points in Squire report


Train cleanliness, ticket collection, train staff and customer care are just some of the areas within ScotRail that have shown consistently high performance, according to an annual report of ScotRail’s quality of rail and passenger services. Transport Scotland’s Squire (Service Quality Incentive Regime) system monitors the passenger experience throughout Scotland.


Light rail NVQ


The first dedicated vocational qualification for light rail and tram drivers has been launched. The Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Rail Services (Tram/Light Rail Vehicle Driving), to be overseen by City and Guilds, was the result of a collaborative project by light rail operators and GoSkills.


DB to try tunnel


Deutsche Bahn is planning to test a high speed ICE train in the Channel Tunnel in October, with a view to running services directly from Germany to London in the future. The German operator is challenging current safety rules that mean a standard ICE is too short for operating through the tunnel.


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