Railway safety and crime

ACoRP welcomes popularity of community rail

15.05.13: It’s not just the main network that is seeing huge increases in passenger demand – Britain’s rural railway is also increasing in popularity. The number of journeys taken on community rail lines rose by 4.1 million over the...

New footbridge to boost safety at danger crossing

09.05.13: Work has begun on a new footbridge in Fishbourne to improve safety at level crossings. The level crossing is one of the most dangerous on the network, and has seen three fatalities, 22 near misses with trains, nine reports of misuse and 18...

Workers stayed on tracks after possession ended

26.04.13: A railway line was left open whilst staff near Dunblane continued to work, an RAIB report highlights. On 28 October 2012 the line between Stirling and Blackford was authorised to re-open following a possession, despite work on one of four w...

Rail worker injured by runaway mobile elevation unit

23.04.13: A runaway maintenance vehicle led to a member of staff being injured on Sunday morning in Glasgow. Rail union RMT has raised concerns about the number of agencies and contractors working on the railways, instead of directly-employed Network...

Companies fined after ballast regulator crushes worker’s face

22.04.13: Two companies have been fined £60,000 and must pay costs of £29,728 after an incident in which one rail worker had his face crushed and suffered brain damage, and another injured his left eye and face. They were using a hydrauli...

Big fall in cable theft over past year – Network Rail

15.04.13: The amount of delays to train services caused by cable theft has halved, with the number of incidents affecting rail services down by 67%. The total cost to the rail industry is down to £12,765,935, down from its peak of £18,337...

Sentencing for signalman who raised barriers in level crossing crash death

12.04.13: Network Rail and signalman Adrian Maund have been fined for a level crossing death in 2010. Maund raised the barriers at Moreton-on-Lugg, Herefordshire, shortly before a train crashed into a car, killing Jane Harding (pictured below). Maund...

Two dead in level crossing crash

10.04.13: Two men have died after a car was hit by a train at a railway crossing in Lincolnshire. The passenger train hit the vehicle at Great Coates crossing near Grimsby at 7.39pm yesterday (Tuesday). One man died at the scene and the other en rout...

Fatigue management award nominations open

08.04.13: Companies and individuals working to reduce the risk of fatigue are invited to apply for IOSH Railway Group’s Fatigue Management Award 2013. The awards aim to raise the profile of occupational health issues in the rail industry and to...

ORR fines Network Rail £318,125 over man’s death

25.03.13: Network Rail and GT Railway Maintenance Ltd have been fined for safety breaches that led to a man’s death in 2003. The ORR has fined the companies a total of £318,125 and ordered them to pay costs of £180,000. Liam Robinso...

Fatal smash at level crossing prompts safety calls

22.03.13: One person has been killed after their car was hit by a train at a level crossing and completely destroyed. The car had been driven onto a level crossing while the barriers were lowered yesterday morning at the Stanmoor Road crossing near A...

Greater focus on rail security is needed – MPs

22.03.13: Rail staff must be better trained to deal with security incidents, the Commons Transport Committee has urged. A new report warns that the conflation of a wide range of security issues – from terrorism to relatively minor crime against...

Police and engineer partnership to cut delays

19.03.13: An emergency police vehicle being used across south and west London is helping to reduce disruption to passengers. Emergency Intervention Units (EIU) help get railway engineers to incidents on the railway faster, by using blue lights and sirens....

Domestic violence policy launched for rail industry

08.03.13: Rail union RMT has launched a new model domestic violence policy framework for the UK transport industry today – International Women’s Day. At the annual women’s conference in Nottingham, the RMT will outline principles fo...

BTP launches non-emergency text number

06.03.13: Passengers will be able to report low-level crime to the British Transport Police with the launch of a new non-emergency text number. The number, 61016, is designed to capture non-emergency incidents in real-time and to give officers a bett...