Rail industry to phase out signal post telephones in re-signalling projects

Network Rail requested to stop the provision of signal post telephones during re-signalling works, starting with its Fife project. In response, RSSB’s Industry Leadership Group agreed to move beyond signal post telephones.

The decision follows clear evidence that signal post telephones offer limited safety benefit. Most are rarely used and represent a significant and ongoing cost to the industry.

RSSB analysis showed that signal post telephones have a poor safety profile as secondary communication provision compared to alternative methods. Better solutions are the provision of portable devices to drivers or a second SIM card that allows on-board GSM-R radios to ‘roam’ onto an alternative network.

The decision will deliver significant cost savings by avoiding the future installation and long-term maintenance of fixed lineside telephones. Network Rail currently maintains around 32,000 telephones across the GB network. This comes at an estimated cost of £22.5 million a year, with major re-signalling schemes adding further expense through design, cabling and associated infrastructure.

Professor Clive Roberts, Independent Chair of the Industry Leadership Group, said:

‘Signal post telephones were designed for a very different railway. The evidence is clear that they are no longer the most effective or proportionate way to provide secondary communication. This decision gives the industry clarity and leadership, allowing modern alternatives to be adopted while maintaining safety and reducing avoidable cost.’

Tom Lee, RSSB Director of Standards, said:

‘This decision demonstrates how RSSB supports the rail industry to move away from outdated legacy solutions and towards safer, more cost-effective risk-based outcomes. By focusing on what genuinely supports safety and operational effectiveness today, we can remove barriers to adopting changes in technology and operating practices, eliminating unnecessary cost and creating space for better, more flexible solutions to be adopted.’

Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s Group Safety and Engineering Director, said:

‘The Industry Leadership group is making a real difference. It is enabling us to take decisions in the interests of the whole industry. The recent decision about signal post telephones improves safety and saves money. In this age of modern mobile telecommunications, it makes no sense whatsoever for a train driver to climb down from the cab and to use an old-fashioned telephone phone handset in a box on the railway lineside.’

By approving the change, the group aims to support more proportionate investment, reduce unnecessary infrastructure and maintenance costs, and improve staff safety by limiting the need for trackside access.

Editors’ Notes

1. RSSB’s Industry Leadership Group brings together senior representatives from across the rail industry to provide strategic direction on standards and related decisions, helping ensure that standards enable innovation, support safety and deliver better value for money for the railway.
2. Chaired by Professor Clive Roberts, the meeting included representation from all industry sectors with the Department for Transport, ORR and RSSB observing.
3. The decision to stop provision of signal post telephones could mean train operators need to upgrade other voice communication systems and, if required, the Cost Attribution Committee (CAC) will address financial compensation, using existing industry mechanisms.
4. Fixed lineside telephones may still be provided at strategic locations if there is an identified need.
5. The next meeting of the Industry Leadership Group will take place in June.