Passenger operations

The rail industry needs to ensure that passengers are safe, whether in one of the network’s 2,500 stations or on trains.

Railway stations are bustling hubs where passengers embark and disembark. It is vital that we ensure the safety and wellbeing of all who use them.

This year has seen an increase in passengers as the rail industry continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 1.6 billion passenger journeys this year, a 6% increase on the year before. However, passenger journeys are still 2% lower than they were in 2019/20.

This year, there were five passenger fatalities in stations or on trains (excluding train accidents). Of these, three occurred at the platform train interface (PTI), all of which involved passengers falling from the platform onto the tracks.

Figure 3 shows that falling from the platform to the tracks accounts for around 37% of all passenger fatality risk. The PTI Risk Assessment Tool is available to RSSB members and the People on Trains and in Stations Risk Group (PTSRG) is currently leading work to develop the new PTI strategy.

One person died after falling on board a train, and in a separate incident a passenger died after being assaulted at a station. While most passenger fatality risk is at the PTI, once non-fatal injuries are included the harm received by passengers and the public in stations and on trains is dominated

by slips, trips, and falls (STF). The harm to passengers and public from STF in stations reduced around 5% this year, despite the increase in passenger journeys. But there were still over 3,300 station STFs reported into Safe Insights.

In 2024 the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and Transport Focus commissioned a report examining four stranded train incidents in 2023. It highlighted the need for better management of stranded train incidents, emphasising quicker recovery plans and improved passenger support, especially for those with disabilities.

The report also calls for enhanced staff training to ensure passenger safety and welfare. These findings have now been incorporated into the Rail Delivery Group and Network Rail guidance note: Meeting the Needs of Passengers Stranded on Trains.

Figure 3: Passenger fatality risk (based on RSSB’s Safety Risk Model v9)