Rail Users Ireland Forum - [Article] New commission to oversee railway safety

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New railway safety body to be launched

Not really news but...

Quote:

08/02/06
09:02
New railway safety body to be launched

A new railway safety body is to be officially launched by
Transport Minister Martin Cullen today

The Railway Safety Commission will be responsible for inspecting
all Iarnod Eireann and Luas lines, and will also have
responsibility for any future Metro lines

The body, established on January 1st, will also have the power to
investigate accidents and to subject drivers to drug and alcohol
tests. Originally announced in 2001, it was due to be up and
running by 2004 but was delayed by concerns over this testing

Like the Health and Safety Authority, the commission can issue
improvement plans, improvement notices, prohibition notices and
applications to the High Court to restrict unsafe activities

This external information has been sourced from Business World,
a service of Media World Ltd.

[Article] New commission to oversee railway safety

Not before time

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ireland.com

New commission to oversee railway safety
By Luke Cassidy Last updated: 08-02-06, 10:07

A new body responsible for regulating railway safety in the State has been officially launched in Dublin.

The Railway Safety Commission will monitor and inspect railway infrastructure, investigate and report on railway accidents as well as enforce safety on the rail infrastructure.

Speaking at the launch in Blackrock, Co Dublin, this morning Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said the establishment of the body was "timely".

"As we invest to improve our rail network, it is critical we have in place a modern regulatory framework. The new Commission will ensure the expanded railway network is built and maintained to the highest safety standards," he said.

Railway Safety Commissioner John Welsby also reminded people to have regard for railway safety while conducting activities on or near the railway.

The body will also be working with Northern Ireland Rail and European counterparts to harmonise rail transport safety levels throughout the European Union.

Does Northern Ireland fall under the remit of Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate?

The HMRI are in charge in Northern Ireland but a common rule book is in place island wide. The Health and Safety Executive are really in charge and the HRMI report to them

The Irish situation really has'nt changed much, if you have a big accident you have an inquiry the commission now have much stronger powers to gather evidence and to inforce safety standards

Is there any point to this or will it be another pointless entity?

Who writes the rule book? Presumably any changes have to be agreed both here and by the relevant authorities in NI.

Are there any significant differences between here and the UK. I heard once that drivers can pass a red signal here once it's cleared by radio, while in the UK they have to get out of the cab and phone the signalbox even if they have radio available. Is that still the case?

After a lot of work a common rule book was developed between IE and NIR.

There is 172 years Irish experience in the rule book its more or less the UK book with some changes to reflect differences here such as cab signalling, postive train ID radio and driver only operation

If the train is operating over a CTC section of track with a CTC radio, a driver may be authorised to pass a signal at danger by radio, thats fairly common place the world over. The radio system tags on the train ID so the signalman and signal system know who they are talking to at all times. I've been on board trains where it has been used to pass red signals its all handled in a very professional manner with the phonetic alphabet used

The Irish rule book did at one time allow a driver to pass a signal (not a one protecting a junction) if he was unable to contact the signaller by phone. A similar rule did exist in the UK for certain trains. End result was the Cherryville accident of 1983

The rule book will now form part of the safety case IE submit to the RSC and they have the power to accept or reject