RSSB’s flagship Annual Health and Safety Report shows a rise in passenger numbers, but a rise in SPADs and work-related violence too. Editor Greg Morse reports.
This year has seen the railway recover further from the impact of Covid-19, with more journeys taken by train. Yet rail travel is still 17% below its pre-pandemic level. Leisure travel might have picked up, but business travel and commuters have not returned as quickly. Our railway is also on the tipping point of organisational change and those caused by increasing adverse weather events.
All this will impact us in the medium- to longer-term. In the face of some changes, other challenges seem smaller. But those challenges – traditional railway risks like SPADs, overspeeding, level crossing use, and the platform-train interface – are still there, and still need our attention.
RSSB’s regular monitoring lets the railway keep an eye on safety and raise concerns if rates are high or going in the wrong direction. This year our monitoring highlighted:
An increase in SPADs and SPAD risk over the summer, with a tangible (albeit relatively weak) data link between SPAD numbers and high temperatures.
Objects on the line continuing to be a concern, as demonstrated by the collision between a train and hand trolley at Challow in 2021. RSSB is supporting the industry by helping prioritise objects that pose the greatest risk in terms of derailment, damage and injury.
Overspeeding raising an important question for train protection systems. Put simply: where next? Concepts like Optimised Train Track Operations (OTTO) could provide greater controls against overspeeding (and SPADs). RSSB has completed an independent review of OTTO for Network Rail and will continue to monitor the situation.
A rise in trespass and work-related violence and trauma. Over the last year, 171 incidents resulted in staff taking time off. And it’s not just station and train staff – we also see reports of track workers being assaulted. But, with data quality lacking here, it’s hard to understand exactly how prevalent the issue might be.
A rise in sitting on platform edge (SOPE) incidents. With SOPE, there are links to the weather, the station type and passenger demographic.
A drop in track worker near misses due to the work of Network Rail’s Safety Task Force. Yet near misses are still occurring. Increases in cases of incorrectly placed protection, coupled with the ever-present hazard of trains being signalled towards line blockages, shows that there is still more work to be done.
RSSB can only monitor railway safety effectively and if the safety data is complete and accurate. Without this vital evidence, we can’t help industry make the best risk-based decisions possible. As we’ve said before in Right Track, reporting is everything.
Go to our website to read the latest Annual Health and Safety Report and the specific data for each risk area identified in Leading Health and Safety on Britain's Railway.
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