Railway safety and crime

RAIB to investigate serious Cardiff signalling irregularity

02.02.17: The Rail Accident and Investigation Branch (RAIB) has announced that it will be conducting an investigation into a serious signalling irregularity discovered just outside Cardiff Central station between Christmas and the New Year. The irreg...

Vivarail lays out action plan as faulty repair work to blame for train fire

02.02.17: Vivarail has released its full report on the Class 230 test train fire that took place over the festive period, concluding that the cause of the fire was due to a fuel leak in one of the train’s gensets, likely caused during recent repair...

Lewisham derailment to disrupt Southeastern commuters for days

26.01.17: Southeastern services are set to be disrupted for the rest of the week following the partial derailing of a freight train in Lewisham, south east London. Network Rail has confirmed that a 50-metre stretch of railway is being “complete...

BTP: Rail industry ‘nervous’ about policing integration

25.01.17: Proposals which may see British Transport Police (BTP) integrated into a national infrastructure force have raised concerns across the railway industry, BTP chiefs have revealed. BTP bosses made the admission during an evidence session in f...

Greater action needed nationally to tackle ‘Martini’ terrorism

24.01.17: British Transport Police (BTP) chiefs have revealed that the service is putting increasing amounts of its core funding into countering terrorism on Britain’s railways, but other areas of the force’s work are having to absorb the cost...

RAIB releases safety digest after Toton derailment

17.01.17: The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has issued a safety digest after an incident in Nottinghamshire last year in which a train ran away from its driver and travelled almost a kilometre along an independent goods line before coming off...

Vivarail: Cause of D-train fire ‘not immediately obvious’

16.01.17: Vivarail has completed its initial investigation into the Class 230 test train fire over the festive period, concluding that the cause of the fire is “not immediately obvious”. On 30 December 2016, ten members of Vivarail staff...

RAIB investigates fatal Sheffield tram accident

11.01.17: The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has decided to investigate a fatal accident just before Christmas in which a Sheffield man was killed by a tram. At around 10am on 22 December 2016 a pedestrian, who had just stepped off an inbo...

Network Rail fined £800,000 after Redhill injury incident

09.01.17: Network Rail has been fined £800,000 at Guildford Crown Court for breaching health and safety laws after a track worker sustained multiple ‘life changing’ injuries when he was hit by a train. The prosecution was brought by...

ORR joins RSSB in saying DOO services ‘can be operated safely’

05.01.17: The ORR has concluded that Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR’s) proposed use of driver-only operation (DOO) on its trains will allow services to operate safely, albeit once the plans have undergone slight improvements. DOO has bee...

Man killed at Bedfordshire level crossing

03.01.17: A man has been killed this morning after a train struck his car at Marston level crossing in Bedfordshire. British Transport Police (BTP) were called to the level crossing, near Lidlington station, just after 10am following reports that a c...

Vivarail test train catches fire over festive period as NUCKLE trial postponed

03.01.17: The trial of Vivarail’s innovative D-train on the Coventry to Nuneaton (NUCKLE) line has been postponed, as the firm’s test train caught fire over the festive season. Last Friday (30 December 2016) ten members of Vivarail staff...

RAIB reveals near-miss between pedestrian and Stansted Airport train

21.12.16: The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has decided to post safety digests into four incidents that took place on England’s railways in November, including a near-miss between a pedestrian and a passenger train on the way to Stansted...

Croydon tram crash survivors move to sue TfL and FirstGroup

12.12.16: Survivors of the Croydon tram crash are suing Transport for London (TfL) and FirstGroup for compensation over the trauma they suffered in the disaster. The incident on 9 November this year saw a speeding tram derail on a bend near Sandiland...

Ealing Broadway derailment due to miscommunication, RAIB finds

06.12.16: The RAIB has released its report into the derailment of a Tube train at Ealing Broadway station in March of this year, concluding that the accident was caused due to miscommunication between control room staff. At 1:29am on 2 March 2016, th...