RSSB
case was widely reported, but less well known to the national media is the fact that the Toc involved – Merseyrail – later added an alternative process to its dispatch procedure, which allows guards to give the ‘right away’ before their door has fully closed. This allows them to view the dispatch corridor for longer than the previous official process, which was to get on, shut the door and look out of a small window.
ORR and RSSB hosted a joint workshop in March to discuss the issues highlighted by the accident. The day was attended by train operators, Network Rail, the unions and reps from the ORR, RAIB and RSSB – all agreeing a need for consistency and new guidance. This work builds on the Station Safety Improvement Project, established by RSSB in 2011 after safety performance analysis highlighted PTI risk. The aim now is to develop a holistic approach to the assessment of all types of station risk, along with specialist research into potential human factors, engineering and asset solutions.
Cattle issue replaced by a deer one Another incident type on the rise – perhaps surprisingly – involves animals on the line. Statistics show that, while the
total reported number of animal on the line incidents has fallen by 43 per cent since 2002/03, reported cases of animals being struck by trains have risen by 77 per cent.
Many of the risks posed by cattle (and, by implication, other large-boned animals) were addressed by British Rail after the Polmont accident of 1984, when fence management processes, cab-to-shore communications, the rules for reporting incidents and the robustness of trains to collision were all improved. Despite this, however, RSSB’s analysis shows that the cattle question posed by Polmont has largely been replaced by a deer one. At two million, the deer population is reportedly higher now than at any time in the last 1000 years, thanks to milder winters, more winter crops, increased woodland cover and greater connectivity between green spaces in urban areas. The good news is that, although deer have an innate ability to jump fences of varying heights, the derailment risk is considered to be less than with a cow or horse, although the withdrawal of lightweight driving trailers, the fitment of obstacle deflectors and the general improvement in train crashworthiness exemplified by Classes 220, 221 and 390 means that it is now low for all animal
types.
Just as important as collating the learning is feeding that learning back into the rail system. RSSB supports this process with periodic safety reports as well as briefing tools like the RED DVD and Right Track magazine. We also help the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) set incidents into context, by offering statistical data, expert knowledge from staff with extensive industry experience, and by bringing cross-industry groups together to tackle industry-wide issues.
The source material for learning opportunities like these often comes from the coal face, whether it’s part of routine incident logging, confidential reporting via CIRAS, or simply having a management-level understanding of what’s actually happening ‘out there’. The key for us office dwellers is to make sure we’re reaching out to get this source material and to brief the learning back into the rail system. After all, the 2012 Olympics showed how good we can be as an industry when we share. If we keep sharing, we’ll win. •
Greg Morse is RSSB’s Operational Feedback specialist. Contact the RSSB at
enquirydesk@rssb.co.uk
Delivering Rail Management Software Solutions...
accurate and reliable performance, efficiency and profitability.
abithell@datasys.co.uk | 07801 497 515 |
www.datasys.co.uk
Page 36 September 2013
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