HSE publishes annual report on railway safety 2002/03

HSE press release E230:03 - 17 November 2003

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today published its latest annual report on the safety record of Britain's railways. The report covers the year 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003.

Overall, the record is one of improvement, with a reduction in the numbers of collisions, derailments, train incidents, signals passed at danger (SPADs), broken rails, rolling stock failures and cases of vandalism. This is especially encouraging as it took place during a period of change for the industry.

However, the year also saw the derailment at Potters Bar, which cost seven lives. Overall, the number of people fatally injured rose and there was little change in the numbers of employee injuries or level crossing incidents, and no change in the number of assaults on railway staff.

Key facts from the report include:

• train collisions were down 32%, from 102 to 69;
• total train incidents fell by 17% from 1704 to 1421 - the lowest since 1996;
• broken rails on Network Rail infrastructure fell by 17% - from 534 to 445;
• track buckles on Network Rail infrastructure fell by 57% - from 50 to 28;
• acts of vandalism were down 19% - from 922 to 742; and
• category A SPADs on Network Rail infrastructure fell by 8% to 401, of which 143 were serious - the lowest totals since records began in 1985.

The report also notes:

• a total of 50 people (excluding trespassers and suicides) died on the railways, up 14 from 2001/02. 10 died in train incidents, up five, including seven in the Potters Bar derailment;
• of the 20 members of the public who died, 13 were killed while using level crossings;
• five children under 16 died while trespassing, up two on 2001/02;
• 742 (52%) of the 1421 train incidents were due to acts of vandalism - down 2%;
• 292 train fires were reported - up one on 2001/02;
• 438 rolling stock failures occurred, down 103 (19%);
• 355 injuries arose from assaults on staff, up three; and
• there were seven staff fatalities, including three track workers.

Dr Allan Sefton, HSE's Director of Rail Safety, commented: "Overall, the railways' safety performance continues to improve. There was good progress in 2002/03 on a number of the key indicators. However, the reporting period also saw the Potters Bar derailment on 10 May 2002, which resulted in seven deaths. The overall rise in fatalities is regrettable.

"2002/03 saw substantial change to the structure of the industry", Dr Sefton continued, "with Network Rail taking over management of the mainline rail infrastructure in October 2002; the setting up of the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) in April 2003 to provide health and safety leadership for the whole industry and the passing of legislation to enable the initial establishment of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) as a new independent accident investigation body that will not be concerned with criminal liability. In addition, the ownership and management of the London Underground have changed considerably.

"Our key message remains that the railway industry needs to maintain a clear focus on preventing catastrophic events by demonstrating that they are systematically managing risks to drive down the incidents that are the precursors to major accidents.

"In support of this, HSE has decided to link its own PSA target to the Railway Group's objective of reducing, by 10% each year from the 2001/02 benchmark level, the incidence of train accident precursors, calculated on a risk basis, that could lead to a catastrophic event. This, in turn, will lead to a re-alignment of our own resources and planned inspections."

'Railway safety: HSE's annual report on the safety record of the railways in Great Britain during 2002/03' is available free on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/railways/annualreport

Notes to editors

1. The Railway Inspectorate 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 HSE's HM Railway Inspectorate (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.

2. 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.

3. Last year's report highlighted HSE's intent to review the future format and structure of the document. A decision was taken to produce a more focussed report; and make it more accessible by publishing it on HSE's rail-web page, which was relaunched in February 2003 as the prime source of information on HMRI's investigations and other live issues.

4. The new report is structured around statistical data (i.e. fatalities, injuries, train incidents, train defects and enforcement) and is supported by a summary of the year in brief, including good/bad indicators, key facts and main messages.

5. Key facts from annual report 2002/2003

HM Railway Inspectorate (HMRI)

• HMRI permanent staff remained steady at 186.
• A new rail section to the HSE website was launched in February - it is targeted at key stakeholder audiences and provides up-to-date information on a range of rail safety issues, including updates on HMRI's investigations.

Investigations, enforcement, complaints

• One major train incident - the Potters Bar derailment in May - 6 passenger deaths and a member of the public.
• 103 enforcement notices issued, 26 fewer than in 2001/02.
• 11 prosecutions undertaken, resulting in fines of £183,500.

Train incidents

• 10 people fatally injured in train incidents, up 5 on previous year (NB includes 6 at Potters Bar).
• 50 people (excluding trespassers and suicides) were fatally injured on the railways, up 14 (39%) on previous year.
• 1421 train incidents occurred, down 283 (17%) on 2001/02.
• 69 collisions, down 32 (32%) from last year.
• 67 derailments, down 21 (24%), within this total, the number of derailments of passenger trains also down 9 from 40 to 31.
• 75 significant train incidents, down 17 (18%) on 2001/02.
• 498 train windscreens damaged (mostly caused by bricks and stones thrown by vandals), down 167 (25%) from 665.

Track

• 445 broken rails on Network Rail Controlled Infrastructure (NRCI), down 89 (17%) from 534.
• 24 track buckles on all railways (21 on NRCI), down 25 (49%) on 2001/02.

Incidents involving passengers, staff & members of the public

• 50 passengers, railway staff and other members of the public were fatally injured (excludes trespassers and suicides), up 14 on 2001/02.
• 23 passenger fatalities from all causes, up 10 on last year.
• 10 people fatally injured in train incidents.
• 7 railway staff fatalities, up 2 on 2001/02.
• 20 deaths of other members of the public, 2 up on last year.
• Of these 20 deaths, 13 were to level-crossing users, up 1 on the previous year.

Train protection strategy

• 401 category A SPADs on NRCI, down 35 (8%) from 2001/02.
• 143 serious SPADs on NRCI, down 29 (17%) from 2001/02.
• Since 1998/99, the number of Category A and serious SPADs on NRCI have reduced by 39% and 40% respectively.

Level crossings

• 27 train incidents at level crossings - the same as in 2001/02.
• 13 members of the public were killed using level crossings, up 1 on 2001/02.
• 2 were occupants of road vehicles killed in separate incidents when their vehicles were in collision with trains.
• 11 were pedestrians struck and killed while using the crossings.
• There are 8,188 level crossings on NRCI.

Trespass and vandalism

• 256 members of the public fatally injured due to trespass and suicide, down 15 (5%) on 2001/02.
• 5 children under the age of 16 died while trespassing, up 2 on 2001/02.
• The overall number of train accidents due to vandalism fell by 2% from 54% to 52%.
• 742 (52%) of the 1421 train incidents were due to acts of vandalism.
• Malicious vandalism acts included:
  • 162 train fires caused by arson, down 8;
  • 136 obstructions of the line, down 13;
  • 425 incidents of missile damage (mainly driving cab windscreens), down 143;
  • 15 open-door collisions, down 15; and
  • 4 derailments.

Fires

• 292 train fires, up 1 on 2001/02.
• 162 of these were due to arson, down 8,
• 278 fires were on passenger trains, 14 on goods trains.
• 84 lineside and station fires, 9 (12%) more than last year.
• 26 fires on LUL infrastructure, down 1 on 2001/02.

Failures of rolling stock and infrastructure

• 438 rolling stock failures occurred, down 103 (19%).
• 52% of train collisions involved the striking of open doors on slam-door trains.
• Open-door incidents should decline as the slam-door stock is replaced across the Southern Region.

Health and safety of railway employees

• 3 track worker fatalities.
• 8 prosecutions of companies following incidents involving employees.
• 2436 railway employees injured (including 7 fatalities) compared to 2379 (2.4% increase) on previous year.
• 349 reported major injuries, down 2 on 2001/02 (the highest figure for three years).
• 2080 minor injuries resulting in the worker being unable to work for more than three consecutive days, up 57 on 2001/02 - (the 2023 incidents in 2000/01 was the lowest since 1996/97).
• 355 injuries arising from assaults on staff, up 3 from 2002/03.

London Underground

• 29 broken rails on LUL's infrastructure, up 4 (16%) from 2001/02.
• 27 people fatally injured on LUL, the same as in 2001/02.
• Of those 27, five were passengers and the remainder trespassers and suicides.

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