Use case: Supporting the introduction of assisted braking and door operation
20/05/2025
RSSB provides a data request service so its members and other rail organisations and forums can request bespoke analysis of Safe Insights data. This service is also used by RSSB’s research and standards functions to support cross-industry understanding and decision-making. For example, Research project T1326 used it to understand how the introduction of assisted braking and door operation (ABDO) changes the operational profile of the railway.
How is Safe Insights data being used?
Safe Insights data and the Safety Risk Model were used to quantify the impact of ABDO on whole-system safety and other factors. They revealed that the ABDO solution can:
- reduce station overruns and stop-short incidents
- reduce risk by eliminating incidents where doors are released without the train being fully berthed at the platform
- reduce risk associated with passengers falling while running along the platform because the train has stopped in the wrong position
- provide station dwell time savings
- introduce more efficient and consistent braking into stations.
The data also helped the project team understand the impact of stop shorts and overrun events and the associated delay minutes. ABDO was considered to provide an overall safety benefit.
What difference is the data making?
The outputs led to a good practice guide that outlines the steps that railway undertakings and infrastructure managers should consider when planning the introduction of ABDO as a method of operation.
‘Our new Class 701 fleet supports the ABDO system, but its impact on the driving task and wider network operations must be understood. Research T1326 explored these effects across various scenarios to help guide our future decisions.’
