Making strides towards a safer future
Last month we released our Annual Health and Safety Report 2022/23, providing industry with the latest health and safety performance insights so that, together, we can deliver an even safer railway.
Regular safety monitoring allows us to keep a watchful eye on safety trends, and the Annual Health and Safety Report (AHSR) brings together a wealth of analyses about how industry is performing. This year, the report has revealed no fatalities in train accidents, highlighted issues with signals passed at danger (SPADs), and identified continued risks from dangerous behaviours by the public.
In 2022/23 there were no fatalities among passengers or the workforce in train accidents; this excludes those caused by level crossings and trespassing. Over the same period passenger journeys are up by 46%.
There were two fatalities among members of the workforce (these were not related to train accidents), five passenger or public fatalities (also not related to train accidents), and 15 public fatalities at other locations. This included eight trespassers and five unfortunate incidents that happened at level crossings. While there have been 236 suicides or suspected suicides, the industry has implemented measures to address this serious issue. Overall, the industry takes causes of death on the network very seriously and continues to work to minimise this harm.
The increase in the number of SPADs over the past year warrants our attention. But, with no significant reductions in the number of SPADs over the last decade, it raises the question of where next for train protection systems. It is crucial for the industry to continue working together to address this issue and implement effective solutions.
Shifts in public behaviour during and post the Covid-19 pandemic have been detrimental to safety and wellbeing. Incidents of trespass on tracks, people sitting on the platform edge, and work-related violence against staff can each cause harm to those doing them or others. More worryingly, they have all exceeded their pre-pandemic levels. It is industry's responsibility to address these and create a safe and secure environment for staff, passengers, and the public.
The data and analyses shared in this year’s AHSR are only part of the story, however. In order to monitor safety effectively, we need complete and accurate safety data. A few companies are not meeting the required level of data quality and RSSB is talking to them about how to make improvements.
It's essential that we recognise, as an industry, that without high quality data we will struggle to make the high quality safety decisions that need to be made.
The learnings from the AHSR 2022/23 can help ensure Britain’s railways remain among the safest in the world.
Read the report
More information about this year's AHSR and previous reports are available on our website.
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