THE Rail Accident Investigation Branch’s annual report indicates that 461 incidents were advised in 2022, of which 22 were of a severity that required a detailed on-site examination to establish cause and identify future mitigations. None of the events resulted in the issue of a statutory notice preventing operations.
A summary of statistics over five years shows there have been 17 main line derailments, with freight recording 10 and passenger trains seven. There were 17 collisions that involved eight between trains and nine with obstruction to the track.
Potential weakness
The management of extreme weather conditions has become a higher safety priority and the RAIB found that more blanket emergency speed restrictions and closures are being applied in response to forecasts of extreme heat and storms.