SPADs on the empties
We’re getting on the case with SPADs involving empty coaching stock formations. RSSB’s Joe Wilson reports.
SPADs are something we’re always watching out for in our industry. We all know they can be a precursor to an accident, but we also know that many SPADs occur at low speed, don’t involve a significant overrun and seldom involve the potential for a collision. But what about train type?
ECS SPADs make up 4% of train services, but around 17% of SPADs. Statistics have also shown a rise in the numbers of empty coaching stock (ECS) formations passing red signals. RSSB did a lot of research in 2005 into ECS SPADs and it identified a number of factors. A fresh look in 2022 found that things hadn’t changed much. Here are the main aspects.
This isn’t often necessary on passenger trains but is very common in movements around depots or stabling sidings. In short, when drivers change ends, there’s a chance they might get distracted, and when they reach the other cab, the train might not be in the best place for signal sighting. Talking of which…
Position light signals at ground level are more likely to be obscured by foliage and it could be they get less attention from signal sighting committees and asset assessors.
Drivers involved in ECS SPADs tend to have two years’ experience or less. Traditionally ECS work was done by ‘bottom link’ drivers (that is, those with the least seniority), whereas the more prestigious turns would be allocated to higher links. Some remnants of this arrangement may still exist, although many operators have abandoned the progressive link system so that all drivers now do a mix of work.
Sometimes movements to and from a depot can be complicated and there may be less emphasis on learning them, compared to route learning on the main line. Disruption can also cause changes to diagrams, often meaning unbooked ECS moves, the details of which tend to be given to the driver by phone.
Though flexible rostering was introduced in the early 1980s, there are still some turns that include spare time at the end where there’s no work requirement. This has led, over very many years, to a culture of ‘job and finish’, where the driver goes home once the actual diagrammed work has been completed. The risk is that drivers may be tempted to rush the job to get finished. ECS moves are most likely to be scheduled at the beginning or end of a shift, and we know the first and last five miles of a turn carry the most risk.
ECS trains are generally given a lower priority than passenger trains so are more likely to be stopped at signals. This in itself would make ECS SPADs relatively more likely but, especially when combined with a ‘job and finish’ situation, could also be a cause of frustration and impatience for the driver.
Working with train operators and the cross-industry Train Accident Risk Group, RSSB is to revisit and update the ECS guidance we published in 2020. We’ll keep you posted. And remember, ECS = Extra Care (at) Signals. Try using ‘risk triggered commentary’ to help yourself stay alert to risks.
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