Rail and road safety: getting the fundamentals right with Right Track 49

There’s a famous quote that sums up learning from the past. And it’s well worth thinking about: ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’ 

The lessons from Ladbroke Grove involved many elements, including driver competence and training, signal sighting, and train protection. There was an element of route knowledge, too, which is why in this issue of Right Track RSSB’s Joe Wilson discusses this important weapon in drivers’ arsenal. 

Elsewhere, RSSB’s Tom Waghorn describes the Cowden accident of 1994, and how—like Ladbroke Grove—it underscores the importance of human factors in rail ops. In similar vein, we look more deeply into the world of risk-triggered commentary, a technique that could have saved lives on the morning of 5 October 1999. We also spotlight RED 69, which focuses on safety critical communications, and highlight coming changes to the Rule Book app. 

To mark this year’s Rail Industry Road Safety Week, we invited LNER’s Rich Farish to pen a piece for the edition. He stresses that no one in rail is immune to the risks presented by road vehicles, but there are steps we can take to protect ourselves and others.

Right Track isn’t complete without an interview. This time we catch up with Cat O’Brien, chair of Network Rail’s bereavement support group. She describes her own loss and how it spurred her to try to help people in the same position. It’s one of the most moving stories we’ve ever told.