Right Track 46: Workplace violence, detraining and ECS SPADs
If you work on the railway’s front line, you’ll be all too aware of this. An RSSB survey found that 94% of frontline staff had experienced work-related violence. In Right Track 46, Inspector Keith Barnes of the British Transport Police dispels some of the myths body-warn cameras and explains how they can help protect our people. It’s an important read for everyone.
RSSB’s Barbara Smith also sweeps a few myths and misunderstandings away regarding the new rules about using GSM-R when a train has failed. It’s so much better and safer than getting out of the cab to place detonators on the track. Her colleague Lee Shann discusses another aspect of degraded mode operation in the form of Emergency Special Working. Where are we with our understanding of the process five years on from its introduction? asks Lee.
Our RAIB brief looks at overspeeding, a subject that continues to occupy our thoughts. Meanwhile, we look beyond our own boundary fence to consider a report from the Rail Accident Investigation Unit on its findings into a mass self-evacuation event in Ireland. It may well ring plenty of bells with our own experiences.
Elsewhere, the SPADtalk column looks at empty coaching stock SPADs and offers tips to help drivers avoid them. We also look back to the fatal buffer stop collision at Moorgate in February 1975, an accident that helped us down the path towards eventual TPWS fitment on terminal lines.
