Traffic Operation and Management
During 2024, the Traffic Operation and Management Standards Committee (TOM SC) has continued to support the industry’s efforts to improve in three key areas:
safety, both for passengers and the workforce
operational performance
operational efficiency.
Rules for walking on or near the line New rules make clear which staff are allowed to walk on or near open lines, when, and why. This is expected to improve workforce safety and reduce ‘close call’ incidents (see ‘key achievements’).
Route and line proving Route proving is when trains operate to make sure that routes which have been closed due to severe weather are safe to run on. A new standard and rules are expected to make the railway safer and improve performance by giving it the tools to recover more quickly from weather disruption (see ‘key achievements’).
New signs for some types of speed restriction Historically, drivers have been required to wait until the whole of their train has passed the end of any speed restriction before accelerating. Designs and application rules for new signs have been developed to allow trains to accelerate as soon as the front of the train reaches the sign in the circumstances when it is safe to do so. The new signs will bring performance and efficiency benefits, particularly for freight trains and long passenger trains.
Psychometric assessments for train drivers The existing RIS for psychometric assessment in train driver selection has been updated to align with the latest accepted psychological good practice. This will help the industry to understand and apply the requirements for psychometric assessments, allowing for a more efficient and effective process.
As well as the projects above, which have completed during the year, work continues on a range of other initiatives.
Detonators The committee continues to support work to identify alternatives to using detonators. TOM SC has approved two national deviations, allowing Network Rail to use alternatives to detonators for possession protection. Other projects are underway to review the use of detonators in emergency protection, temporary block working, single line working, and other remaining operational scenarios that currently require them.
Removing lookout competency Two track workers were struck and killed by a train at Margam in 2019. They were working under an arrangement known as lookout protection, in which a member of the group looks out for approaching trains and warns staff when to move to a safe place. At Margam, staff who were acting as lookouts became distracted and got involved in the work. This meant they did not see the train approaching them. Since this accident Network Rail has been working to reduce the amount of work done under lookout protection. This work has reached a stage where we intend to remove the competency of lookout altogether from the Rule Book during 2025, in favour of safer, more effective safe systems of work.
Medical standards Consultation has recently closed on a fundamental review of industry medical standards for safety-critical staff. The new standards are due for publication in March 2025.
Defective on-train equipment TOM SC has approved a project to review the standards and rules relating to defective on-train equipment, with 16 different objectives. Publication is due in September 2025, allowing for dependencies on other research projects and the complexity of the material.
Secondary voice communications in the absence of GSM-R Throughout 2024, RSSB has engaged with the industry to agree a high-level strategy for operational voice communications. We aim for this to be agreed in 2025, paving the way for industry to adopt a new approach to secondary communications.
Updated requirements for the operation of freight trains and carriage of dangerous goodsDuring 2024, RIS-3781-TOM issue one Requirements for the operation of freight trains and the conveyance of dangerous goods by any train was updated to make requirements and guidance for freight train operation clearer. This includes better guidance to support freight train preparation, where errors can lead to serious incidents. Consultation has recently closed, with publication expected in March 2025.
Guards and train dispatch A new guidance note is under development to set out agreed industry good practice in training and competence management for guards. At the same time, work is underway to update rules and standards for train dispatch. Following a request from the mainline heritage sector, this includes allowing two-way radio communication between driver and guard as a recognised way of dispatching trains. Updates to definitions will also make train dispatch risk assessments simpler and more consistent.
The Chair of TOM SC regularly attends meetings of the Community of European Railways and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and joint CER – European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM) operations support group meetings. These are an opportunity to share knowledge and learning with European colleagues, as well as influence the future development of the Operations Technical Specification for Interoperability (OPE TSI).
The OPE TSI Mirror Group, which reports to TOM SC, meets regularly to prepare recommendations for the Operations National Technical Specification Notice (OPE NTSN). The group aims to minimise technical divergence from the OPE TSI, and retain the option for full compliance where railway undertakings or infrastructure managers wish to do so, but avoid adopting new TSI requirements that would not benefit the GB rail industry. The industry’s recommendation for updates to the OPE NTSN was approved by TOM SC and submitted to the Department for Transport in early 2024.
We welcomed one new member to TOM SC from the passenger train operator constituency. Throughout the year, committee meetings have been quorate.
James WebbChair of the Traffic and Operation Management Standards Committee
Learn more about TOM SC and their work on our website.
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