2000-05-26 Rail Safety goes on line (Railway Safety)

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date 1 January 2001
source Railway Safety
type Press release

Railway Safety, a new not-for-profit body to help drive up safety performance in the rail industry, will begin operating in the New Year.

Building on the work done by Railtrack’s Safety and Standards Directorate, Railway Safety will help lead safety improvements in the rail industry by developing long term strategy, setting and helping operators to achieve challenging safety targets, and measuring and reporting progress in key safety areas.

The key tool for doing this will be the development of the industry-wide Railway Group Safety Plan which sets the railway industry’s 10-year safety blueprint.

To help in this work, Railway Safety will have a research and development budget of some £70 million over five years which will be used to fund research in key safety areas. It is the first time since privatisation that dedicated funding has been made available for centralised research that will benefit the whole industry.

Research is set to be targeted on several areas including human factors - how and why people react differently to safety-related situations, wheel/track interface issues such as adhesion, trespass and vandalism, and train protection systems.

Railway Safety will take over responsibility for leadership in safety initiatives from Railtrack’s Safety and Standards Directorate, which has operated as a centre of excellence within Railtrack for many matters relating to railway safety.

The 11-strong Board of Railway Safety will comprise a majority of non-executive directors, five of whom will be independent of railway businesses.

As part of Railway Safety’s expanded role, it will work to increase awareness and understanding of safety issues among the travelling and general public and will consult widely with consumer groups and other interested parties.

It will also lead UK industry representation in development of European legislation and standards that impact on safe interworking of trains and infrastructure.

Railway Safety’s Chairman Sir David Davies said the new body would provide leadership and support but that it must work with the industry and the Health and Safety Executive to improve broader safety issues. He said: "Interest in railway safety has never been greater. We will use the technical expertise in Railway Safety to help spread understanding of safety issues and help the industry drive up safety performance.

"While we are only part of the solution, we are well placed to make a strong contribution to the continual raising of safety standards and monitoring of improvements." Sir David also emphasised the need for all rail staff to be aware that safety is everyone’s business. "Safety is not someone else’s problem "we’re all responsible and we can all play a part," he said.

Ends

Contact Alison Flynn on 020 7904 7524 for further information.

Email: enquiries@railwaysafety.org.uk

Concerns about operational safety on the Railway should be reported to Railtrack's 24-hour helpline on 0845 711 4141.

Railhub Archive ::: 2001-01-01 RSA-001