Railway safety and crime

TOCs issued warning over driver mobile phone use

30.06.16: A warning has been issued for train operating companies (TOCs) to ensure that drivers do not use their mobile phones while operating a train, following an investigation into an incident last year when a passenger’s hand was trapped in a do...

West Coast Railway fined £200,000 over Wootton Bassett SPAD

29.06.16: West Coast Railway Company Limited (WCRC) has been fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £64,000 after being found guilty of health and safety breaches which led to a train passing a signal at danger near Wootton Bassett last ye...

ORR opens investigation after Tube worker crushed against platform

10.06.16: The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has opened an investigation after a London Underground (LU) worker was crushed between a platform and a train early on Saturday morning at Whitechapel station. The man, a contractor from Harrow in his 30s...

Rise in LU passenger falls linked to S-Stock and staffing cuts

07.06.16: Passenger falls between the platform and train on the London Underground are increasing, which unions are blaming on staffing cuts, increasing passenger numbers and the new S-Stock trains. An FoI request by the Evening Standard found that i...

Mental health lessons for rail from Germanwings 9525

03.06.16: Chris Langer, scheme intelligence manager at CIRAS, the confidential incident reporting and analysis system, on what the rail industry can learn from the tragic Germanwings 9525 crash. When 34-year-old Captain Patrick Sondenheimer took the...

RMT calls for investigation after Tube passenger falls between platform and train

02.06.16: A serious safety incident where a passenger fell between the train and the platform at Canning Town Underground Station must be investigated, the RMT has said. The union said the incident, on 26 May, highlighted the dangers of staff cuts, w...

Southern release figures on ‘remarkable’ sickness absences following strike

25.05.16: Recent delays on the Southern line have been caused by an unusually high rate of conductor absence due to sickness that coincided with the current strikes, according to new figures from the company. Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Southern&...

RAIB flag up recurrent safety concerns after near misses

13.05.16: Dangers associated with track worker safety, track quality, freight train condition and platform interface on British railways all need to be reviewed, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has warned in its corporate report. The RA...

ORR celebrates first year ever without railway worker fatalities

12.05.16: For the first time, a year has passed on Britain’s railways without a railway worker losing his or her life. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), announcing the achievement, said that Britain’s railway network is “safer than...

RAIB criticises lack of risk assessment following electrification accident

10.05.16: Both Network Rail and Balfour Beatty need to ensure the dangers of new railborne plant are managed properly, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has said in a review of a runaway train incident in 2014. The incident occurred at 12...

RAIB demands West Coast Railway safety review after Wootton Bassett SPAD

05.05.16: West Coast Railway Company (WCRC) needs to implement major safety reviews after a signal passed at danger (SPAD) last year, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has found in a new report. In February this year, the ORR banned the W...

Network Rail told to review gate opening equipment after tractor collision

28.04.16: The dangers of gate opening equipment on railways should be re-evaluated, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has said in its investigation into a collision between a train and a tractor near Knaresborough. The incident occurred a...

Last-minute platform switch led to collision at Plymouth which injured 35 people

19.04.16: The train collision at Plymouth station happened after last-minute decisions to switch which platforms the trains used because the lifts were closed, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) have said as they opened their investigation into...

Seven attempted cable thefts hit Nottinghamshire in past month

18.04.16: Thieves have tried to steal cable from Nottinghamshire railways in seven separate incidents in the past month, causing delays and cost on the railways. British Transport Police (BTP), Network Rail and East Midlands Trains are now appealing...

Manchester accident shows dangers of trams in pedestrian areas – RAIB

13.04.16: More awareness is needed of the risks of pedestrians and trams sharing space, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has said in a report into a collision which seriously injured a pedestrian in Manchester last year. The type M5000 t...