Track worker safety
Background
The maintenance and renewal of the railway infrastructure takes place daily. This work must often be carried out close to or on the running track known as 'the line'. Some work can be done by machine but often people also have to be involved and this can present the considerable risk of being struck by trains. It is the responsibility of Network Rail and its contractors to plan ahead and manage renewal and maintenance work to minimise safety risks and disruption.
The safest way of undertaking maintenance and renewal work is to separate workers from trains. On Network Rail controlled infrastructure, this is known as 'green zone working' and involves blocking one or more lines to trains and/or setting up protected areas away from running lines.
It is not always possible to block lines to traffic and some work known as 'red zone working' on lines where trains are running takes place. This involves warning workers of approaching trains in time to get clear of the line and into a 'position of safety' well before the train arrives. This type of working requires very strict safety systems to be in place.
Current situation
ORR’s HMRI has long been concerned about the number of fatalities to railway trackside workers. HMRI has worked with the industry to tackle this important issue and there have been significant reductions in the numbers of fatalities. The introduction of Network Rail’s ‘RIMINI’ (risk minimisation) standard has required improvements to be made to the way in which track work is planned and carried out.
ORR considers RIMINI, which was produced in consultation with other duty holders, to be the industry statement of what it is reasonably practicable to achieve in terms of track worker safety. RIMINI contains a hierarchy of protection methods, with green zone working as the first choice, followed by red zone working with an automatic means of warning, and finally red zone working with human lookouts as a last resort.
For an A4 version of the table below see the PDF file in related links.
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