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News Release from: HSE Health and Safety Executive | Subject: Annual report on railway safety
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 24 September 2004
HSE reports on 2003-4 rail safety
The Health and Safety Executive has published its annual report on the safety record of Britain's railways for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published its annual report on the safety record of Britain's railways for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 Headline figures from the report include: no passenger fatalities in train incidents; 9 staff fatalities, including 6 track workers; 12 passenger and 18 other member-of-the-public fatalities; 378 signals passed at danger (SPADs), down 23 on last year, with serious SPADs up marginally from 143 to 147; broken rails on the Network Rail infrastructure fell by 25 per cent to 334; 137 track buckles on the Network Rail infrastructure, up 116 on last year; 610 train incidents caused by vandalism, down 18 per cent on last year but still accounting for 48 per cent of all train incidents; and 18 people killed on level crossings (1 train driver, 9 pedestrians and 8 car occupants), with 28 incidents on level crossings, which is up 1 on last year
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 1 Jul 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Dr Allan Sefton, the HSEs director of Rail Safety, commented: "My report on rail safety for the year ending 31 March 2004 is a positive one.
"Once again, HSEs HM Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) has noted improvements in key safety indicators and the year passed without a train incident causing a passenger fatality.
"However, it is with sadness that I report that 9 railway employees lost their lives, 3 more than last year, with four men killed at Tebay, Cumbria, in February 2004.
"I am also concerned at the number and nature of the deaths and incidents at level crossings during the year".
"The completion in December 2003 of the programme to install train protection and warning system (TPWS) was a real achievement by the rail industry.
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"TPWS is proving to be increasingly successful in reducing the consequence of signals passed at danger and we are supporting work by the industry on evaluating the effectiveness of TPWS for overspeed mitigation".
"I regard the increasing co-operation between HMRI and all key industry players to achieve the common goals of a safe and reliable railway as another positive feature of the year.
"In practical terms, HMRI and the industry are focusing on those risks that could lead to a catastrophic event such as a collision or derailment.
"This is underscored by our continuing work to deliver key changes to the way HMRI is organised, and improve how it plans, prioritises and communicates its work".
He concluded: "We are still absorbing the outcomes of the Governments White Paper ?The Future of Rail that announced that rail health and safety and economic regulation will be merged in a single body.
"I am pleased that the White Paper acknowledged the good work that HSE has carried out as the independent rail health and safety regulator.
"There is much to be done in the transition period, but HMRI is committed to ensuring that this does not in any way deflect from our efforts to ensure better management of risks on the railway".
The HSE's annual report on railway safety 2003/04 is available free from the railways industry section of the HSE's website.
The Railway Inspectorate ? which became HM Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) in 1990 on its transfer to the HSE - has published Annual Reports on railway safety for over 150 years.
Since October 1986, these have been produced under a Memorandum of Understanding between the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Secretaries of State for the Environment and Transport.
This requires the HSEs HMRI to make an annual report to HSC and the Transport Secretary.
The report covers all railways in Great Britain, including Network Rail infrastructure, London Underground, Tyne and Wear Metro, Docklands Light Railway, minor railways and tram systems etc.
The report is principally a source of statistical data derived from the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR), including information on key findings and trends.
It also provides a mechanism for disseminating information about the work of HMRI and an opportunity to cascade messages on emerging issues and findings from investigations, which would not necessarily justify separate publication.
This years report, like last years, is published on the HSE's rail-web page, which was relaunched in February 2003 as the prime source of information on HMRIs investigations and other live issues.
The web-based report is structured around statistical data (ie fatalities, injuries, train incidents, train defects and enforcement) and includes a foreword by Allan Sefton, the HSEs director of Rail Safety, and a 'year in brief' section.
Last year the HSE announced that HMRI would link its own performance monitoring directly to the mainline Railway Groups own risk model and annual target for reducing catastrophic train accident precursors.
The target is to reduce by 10 per cent each year (using 2001/2002 as a benchmark) the incidence of train accident precursors, calculated on a risk basis, that could lead to a catastrophic event.
The HSEs Rail Delivery Programme is a two-year project, begun in 2003/2004, to deliver business, quality and regulatory improvements in line with the agenda set by recent rail public inquiries (Lord Cullens report on Ladbroke Grove in particular) and the HSC/E strategy for rail.
Significant progress has already been made and other planned changes are on time and within the budget given to HSE to fund this work.
On 15 July 2004 the Secretary of State for Transport published a White Paper 'The Future of Rail' with outcomes from the Rail Review that he announced in January 2004.
The HSC published its response to the White Paper on the same day.
The Secretary of State for Transport decided that the responsibility for rail safety regulation should be transferred from the HSC/E to join the new Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).
A date for the merger has not been proposed but, since primary legislation is required, there will be a transitional period in which the statutory responsibilities for health and safety on the railways remain with HSC/E.
The HSE's next report on railway safety will cover the period 1 April 2004 to 31 December 2004.
This will bring Britain's reporting in line with EU requirements, and to match the Rail Safety and Standards Board which publishes its performance reports on a calendar-year basis.
No date has been set for publication of the HSE report.
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