Health and Safety figures for 2007

Listed below are some breif health and safety facts from 2007.

• One passenger died in a derailment at Grayrigg – the first on-board fatality in a train accident since 2004.

• Eight other passengers died in individual incidents – one as a result of assault, two jumped or fell from moving trains and five were struck by trains in stations.

• Two members of the workforce died in accidents in the trackside environment – the same number as in 2006.

• At 49, the number of potentially higher-risk train accidents (PHRTAs) was little changed from the previous year.

• The risk from signals passed at danger (SPADs) at the end of 2007 stood at around 13% of its March 2001 level, representing a slight increase in risk during the year.

• Nine pedestrians died at level crossings, an increase of four compared to 2006.

• There were three accidental fatalities involving road vehicle occupants at level crossings, which is more than the zero recorded in 2006 but comparable with levels seen over the previous five years.

• Fatalities from suicide and trespass totalled 249. This represents a return to more typical levels after an unusually high number in 2006.

Train accidents

One passenger was killed and 88 people were injured in a high-speed derailment at Grayrigg on 23 February 2007. The immediate cause of the accident was points failure.

Prior to Grayrigg, the last time a train accident led to on-board fatalities was November 2004. There has been a significant long-term reduction in train accidents with on-board fatalities and the current decade has seen an average of less than one such incident per year.

(All information taken from the Rail and Safety Standards Board’s Annual Safety Performance Report 2007)