2024/25
Annual Health and Safety Report
The rail industry's comprehensive overview of the health and safety performance of the GB mainline railway, covering 2024/25.
Train operations
Passenger operations
Fatigue
Occupational healthand safety
Asset integrity
Freight safety
Trespass and suicide
Passenger and staff assaults
Level crossings
Health and wellbeing
our Annual Health and Safety Report 2024/25
On 21 October 2024, two passenger trains collided at Talerddig. One passenger was sadly killed. RAIB is investigating, and published its interim findings in April 2025 during the reporting period. The incident happened in an area controlled by the European Train Control System (ETCS), and under low adhesion conditions. The investigation will focus on the full causal chain.
There have now been two fatal train accidents in the last 5 years. Before Carmont in 2020, the previous fatal accident had been at Garyrigg in 2007. Yet that run of 13 years with no fatal accidents did not mean the industry could be complacent – the potential for serious train accidents remained, as events have brought into sharp focus. The Safety Risk Model (SRM) gives an estimate of the residual risk from such events and the Precursor Indicator Model (PIM) tracks changes in risk over time.
The number of signals passed at danger (SPADs) increased again this year, to a total of 306. This is an increase of 6% compared to last year. The number of potentially high-risk train accidents also rose. The 20 high-risk train accidents this year is the highest number since 2019/20.
1 passenger fatality in a train accident (Talerddig, October 2024)
1 workforce fatality (Ilford station, December 2024)
5 passenger or public fatalities in stations (excluding trespassers and level crossings users)
22 public fatalities at other locations (17 were trespassing, 5 were at level crossings)
6% increase in passenger journeys (compared to 2023/24)
293 suicides or suspected suicides (7% increase on 2023/24)
On 4 December 2024, Customer Service Assistant Jorge Ortega was assaulted at Ilford and later died as a result of his injuries. Work-related violence to members of staff continues to be a concern, and the industry is working to improve reporting of incidents so that better insights can be identified.
But in general, GB rail still has an excellent safety record. The challenge is to maintain that safety record as we go through a continuing period of change, as more passenger operators are taken back into public ownership and Great British Railways is established.
The railway is made up of many stakeholders and they need to collaborate. The Rail Health and Safety Strategy (RHSS) sets out a five-year plan for collaborative health and safety improvement. In 2024/25 the RHSS delivery document followed. This tracks the progress being made in delivering the strategy and the health and safety improvements being made because of it.
The strategy covers five key risk areas, which are: public behaviour, operations, asset management, occupational health and safety, and health and wellbeing (see Figure 1). These key risks further break down into the ten areas that make up the chapters in this report.
