Taking control
RSSB’s Joe Wilson looks ahead to the 25th anniversary of the Ladbroke Grove accident and reflects on the growing use of ETCS.
On 5 October 1999, a commuter train bound for Bedwyn passed a signal at danger and collided head-on with an express as it made for Paddington. Thirty-one people were killed and over 500 were injured.
The accident was subject to a public inquiry, led by Lord Cullen. Cullen’s two-part report would highlight issues around train protection, driver training, and learning from operational experience. This article considers the current situation in some of these key areas.
Train protection
While too late for Ladbroke Grove, TPWS has since helped reduce SPAD risk to a much lower level. But it’s not fail-safe. It doesn’t offer ceiling speed supervision. It cannot regulate train’s speed on the approach to a red signal. And it doesn’t always guarantee a train will stop in the overlap beyond the signal. As the SPAD and near miss at Wootton Bassett Junction in March 2015 showed, its technology can also be overridden by the human element.
However, wider implementation of its successor, the European Train Control System (ETCS), is now taking place. A notable milestone was on the Northern City Line between Finsbury Park and Moorgate. This successfully carried its first ETCS-operated passenger service on 27 November 2023. Of course, it will take time before ETCS is adopted throughout the industry. Issues have also begun to arise where ETCS operates in an overlay system with TPWS. This has caused operators, including GTR and MTR, to have ETCS ‘trips’ where the driver has exceeded the end or limit of movement authority.
The present ETCS signalling system has the potential to pave the way for future digital signalling system across GB rail. But legacy competence management systems and training for assessors must be updated to cater for the demands of ETCS and to better support drivers operating in an overlay system.
If we don’t do this, we’re leaving a driver at risk, just as at Ladbroke Grove. And with more operators now operating through Ladbroke Grove than ever before via the Elizabeth Line, it’s important that route risks are shared and the industry collaborates. This was evident in the two overspeeding events at Spital Junction by two different operators on a route where many operators work.
Driver training
Like all protection systems, TPWS is there to support the driver, not be the driver. When a driver is properly trained, and alert, they can avert disaster or difficulty. The drivers involved in the wrongside failures at Cardiff East Junction in 2016 and Waterloo the following year both recognised that the points their trains were about to take were in the wrong position and acted accordingly. Their route knowledge and alertness came to the rescue.
The SPAD driver at Ladbroke Grove had not received adequate training in this area. He’d started training on 1 February 1999. His first solo shift was on 22 September, 33 weeks later. His trainer had taught him that signals at Paddington were tricky, that he should count the signals from left to right to work out which one was applicable to his line. But he told the inquiry he wasn’t there to teach routes but how to drive a train.
Fortunately, driver training is now much more formalised and structured. It includes competency development plans, compulsory driver training hours, ride outs, downloads, simulators, and mentoring. However, we must not allow ourselves to be complacent, especially as the government is exploring lowering the minimum train driving age to 18. The industry needs to be prepared for the largest influx of post-qualified drivers it might ever see.
A blended approach to training is needed. This includes a balance of classroom time and driving time. There also needs to be a focus on multi-SPAD signals and hotspot routes where operational incidents occur, or unfamiliar moves take place.
The importance of mentoring cannot be over-stressed. Both driver managers and experienced drivers can pass their wealth of knowledge to the newer generation, to ensure they are adequately prepared for the risks. Without this, the industry could create a gap where drivers retire without passing on key knowledge to new drivers.
Corporate memory
Twenty-five years on from Ladbroke Grove, its overarching lesson remains relevant. Change can increase risk. We need to remain vigilant and work together as an industry to tackle these issues. That way, when the 50th anniversary comes along, we’ll be in an even stronger position where safety is concerned.
Webinar coming soon
In October, we will be running a webinar to mark the 25th anniversary of the Ladbroke Grove accident. Visit our events page on our website to sign up.
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