Right Track 41: Ladbroke Grove, SPADs, and the birth of the TPWS
The driver of the commuter train had cancelled three Automatic Warning System (AWS) alerts before the collision. Something better was needed. Something better turned out to be the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS), which was rolled out from 2000. TPWS has been so effective that it’s helped cut SPADs to a level that could once have only been dreamed of.
Ladbroke Grove was a turning point for rail in many ways. It also led to the creation of the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) in 2003 and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) in 2005. RAIB continues to investigate accidents to prevent recurrence. We at RSSB continue to keep a close eye on current and future SPAD trends, and we continue to keep hold of past lessons.
We produced a Train Protection Digest, which considers AWS, TPWS and their place in the development of train protection technology. Episode 49 of our RED safety videos for those on the operational front line looks at the history of SPADs and what we have done about them as an industry.
In terms of SPAD statistics, we track trends every period and offer ways of increasing SPAD awareness (as in our SPAD Toolbox, developed with the SPAD Risk Subgroup) and the bespoke analysis of SPAD risk (as in our Red Aspect Approaches to Signals Toolkit). And, our SPAD deep-dive analysis, commissioned by the Train Accident Risk Group (TARG), has now been published, providing industry with the insight we’ve gleaned from our investigation into the rise in SPADs during the extreme hot weather witnessed over the summer.
Meanwhile, Right Track magazine continues to discuss SPADs from many different angles through its SPADtalk column. In the latest issue (41), Justin Willett, Chair of TARG and Govia Thameslink Railway’s Head of Safety and Environmental Standards, focuses on good driver management and support (p. 6). Later (p. 8), his colleague Dominic Morrow discusses the improvements we’ve made in the field of route knowledge.
Both elements were causal to the Ladbroke Grove accident. With this in mind, we have produced a SPAD Good Practice Guide to improve the effectiveness of route training. Arriva Rail London’s Ryan Dearlove also pens a piece for this edition, in which he considers signal sighting – another element in the Ladbroke Grove incident. The old and the new together – that’s railways. But it isn’t just about technology; it’s about lessons learnt too.
