R A I LT R AC K - The Railways Archive

sustaining
This year’s Railway
Group Safety Plan
sets a ten-year
objective to further
halve the level of risk
on the rail network
by 2009
42
4.7
4.7 Safety developments
In the past ten years,safety on the GB rail network has
improved significantly under most measures (see charts
opposite).Figures recently published by the European
Transport Safety Council (ETSC) show that, for the EU as a
whole, rail is now 27 times safer than road,and twice as safe
as air per passenger kilometre , and 16 times safer than road
and 18 times safer than air per hour exposed (which ETSC
believes to be the best method for mode-to-mode
comparisons even when many trespasser casualties are
included within the rail figures).
This ye a r ’s Railw ay Group Safety Plan sets a ten-ye a r
o b j e c t i ve to further halve the level of risk on the rail netwo rk
by 2009. I n t e g ral to achievement of the ove rall Plan objective
is a requirement that infra s t ructure renewal and enhancement
is progressed in a way which delive rs the maximum affo r d a bl e
i m p r ovements in safety perfo rm a n c e.This is implicit within all
i nvestment schemes detailed in this NMS.
Technical development of the Train Protection Warning
System (TPWS),which provides a significant improvement in
performance over that available through the Automatic
Warning System (AWS) that is already fitted to most of the
network,continues to plan.
Early in 1998,the functionality of the TPWS was
demonstrated to the Health and Safety Commission;their
Executive has also been party to the field trials of the TPWS
on the Thameslink route which have been successfully
concluded.The reliability of both the infrastructure and on-
train elements of the TPWS has been demonstrated. We can
now complete the TPWS installation on the Thameslink
Corridor and the Tonbridge–Hastings route to validate
installation methodology and costs before roll-out across the
network.
In parallel,negotiations are continuing with Her
Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) to finalise agreement
on the fitment criteria and installation programme by which
we will comply with the Railway Safety Regulations 1999,
under which a train protection system is required network-
wide by the beginning of 2004.Definitive agreement with
HMRI must be concluded by mid-1999 to achieve the
already tight implementation deadline without unreasonably
inflating costs.
We have been fully supportive of the Regulations which
mandate adoption of our TPWS as the baseline route to
enhanced train protection.The infrastructure fitment costs,
estimated at £140M,are a fraction of what we believe it
would cost to fit the network with ATP which would also
take significantly longer to install,and deliver very limited
further safety benefits.The introduction of TPWS is seen
as particular ly important given the levels of growth now
being seen which inevitably lead to trains encountering more
red signals.
Alternative train protection arrangements already in
place will be retained,except where the proportion of
‘captive’train operation is low and dual-fitting with the TPWS
would be required under the Regulations.
Once the TPWS installation is complete, the risk arising
from trains passing red signals will be substantially reduced.
ATP functionality is integral to the design of the TCS
under development for application on the WCML to
increase linespeeds to a maximum of 140mph by 2005.
The TCS,for which Alstom has been contracted to
complete development,is more fully described under our
signalling strategy on page 38.
The adoption of new TCSs,tilting trains and higher
speeds on the WCML,and potentially on other corridors
requires development of a portfolio of risk-based Railway
Group Standards (RGS).An holistic, system-level approach
has been pursued to the stage that ‘proposals in principle’
were issued for stakeholder review in January 1999.This
process is also taking account of the emerging technical
standards for interoperability which will underpin delivery of
the EU interoperability directive expected to come into
force in spring 1999.
The progress made within the SRP to address
defective roofs,platforms and other station facilities will
deliver safety benefits through reducing the numbers of ‘trips,
slips and falls’.
The safety of our workforce , and of our contractors’
staff,is of equal importance to that of passengers.After an
18-month period without a fatality, five fatalities in 1998 in
the workforce contracted to Railtrack highlight the
importance of initiatives to reduce the risk to those exposed
to moving trains when maintaining and renewing the
infrastructure. Achievements of particular significance in 1998
were the approvals for deployment of rigid safety barriers
and the first portable automated track safety warning system