Hazard Rail incidents - Developed and maintained by the NFCC - National Operational Guidance
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Hazard
Rail incidents
Developed and maintained by the NFCCContents
Hazard - Rail incidents .............................................................................................................................. 3
Control measure - Responsible person: Rail incidents ................................................................... 4
Control measure - Establish proportionate control over the railway .......................................... 5
Control measure - Appoint safety officers at railway incidents .................................................... 8
Control measure - Personal protective equipment: Railways ..................................................... 10
This content is only valid at the time of download - 30-06-2022 20:43 2 of 11Hazard - Rail incidents
Hazard Knowledge
The control measures for this hazard should be applied when working on or near railways,
whatever the size or complexity of the incident.
The term ‘railways’ includes:
Metro or subway systems
Tram and light railway systems
Heritage rail networks
Temporary rail systems
Industrial site rail systems, such as those found at:
Dockyards
Refineries
Power stations
Nuclear installations
Quarries or mines
The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) produces many publications that cover working on
railways and with rail vehicles. The RSSB Standards catalogue lists these publications; where a
particular publication supports a topic in the guidance, a link is provided. Please note that when
following a link to a RSSB publication a screen may appear prompting log on; this can be
disregarded.
The Network Rail website is another useful source of information, which is also linked to from
various topics in the guidance.
Rail incidents that require the attendance of the fire and rescue service can have severe
implications for the business continuity of the rail network, leading to long delays for passengers
and economic losses for businesses. Careful consideration should be given before requesting
power isolation or train stoppages, but may be necessary if there is a threat to life, property or the
environment.
There may be circumstances where it is possible to monitor minor incidents from a point of safety
and not take action that may have an impact on the free movement of rail. However, if there is a
risk to the safety of the public, personnel or infrastructure, which requires power isolation or train
stoppages, this action should be initiated as quickly as possible.
This content is only valid at the time of download - 30-06-2022 20:43 3 of 11It is important for fire and rescue services to understand the hazards that are present within their
own, and neighbouring areas. Much of the rail infrastructure, including some major rail stations, is
owned or managed by Network Rail. A number of train operating companies (TOCs) and freight
operating companies (FOCs) operate under franchise; the TOCs have a variety of rail vehicles and
stations in their portfolios and a number of FOCs use the rail network. There are also rail
preservation societies that operate sections of track.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is the independent railway accident investigation
organisation in the UK. It investigates railway accidents and incidents on mainline railways, metros,
tramways and heritage railways.
Personnel need to understand the possible hazards associated with all operational incidents and
general hazards that are associated with rail transport, rail facilities and its infrastructure.
Generally, the movement of rail vehicles and the traction current form the greatest hazards within
the rail environment.
Fire and rescue service equipment may create further hazards, for example by obstructing the
railway; equipment being used near to the track should be kept to a minimum and be removed
before any rail vehicle approaches.
Control measure - Responsible person: Rail
incidents
Control measure knowledge
A responsible person may be nominated by the relevant agency or authority and should have the
required competence and knowledge to provide timely and accurate information to emergency
responders about the hazards and risks of rail incidents.
Identifying the responsible person may provide the incident commander with access to a range of
advice and assistance to support the development of a safe and effective tactical plan. The
responsible person may vary depending on the type and context of the incident.
For rail incidents the responsible person could be a:
Rail incident officer (RIO)
Station incident officer (SIO)
Network incident response manager (NIRM)
This content is only valid at the time of download - 30-06-2022 20:43 4 of 11Mobile operations manager (MOM)
Local manager, for example for heritage railways
The responsible person for a rail incident should be able to:
Provide information to the incident commander on rail safety matters
Arrange for specialist rail workers, engineers, contractors and equipment to be moved to the
scene
Obtain specialist information on the infrastructure
Arrange for the delivery of extra equipment such as rail trolleys, generators, cranes and
welfare facilities
Liaise with the incident commander to provide options for partial or complete restoration of
services
Assess the suitability of the implemented control measures
Co-ordinate the phased reopening of rail lines
Strategic actions
Fire and rescue services should:
Identify and establish arrangements with responsible persons who can provide advice and
assistance for rail incidents
Maintain the details of responsible persons, tactical advisers or specialists for rail incidents,
and know how to request their attendance
Tactical actions
Incident commanders should:
Liaise with the responsible person to obtain advice and assistance for dealing with a rail
incident
Consider requesting advice or assistance from tactical advisers or specialists when dealing
with a rail incident
This content is only valid at the time of download - 30-06-2022 20:43 5 of 11Control measure - Establish proportionate
control over the railway
Control measure knowledge
It is important that the rail industry recovers from incidents quickly, but in a planned and co-
ordinated way. Engagement with rail infrastructure representatives can greatly enhance future
performance and operations when attending rail incidents, which can reduce the impact on
business continuity for the rail authority and emergency responders.
Therefore, power isolation and train stoppages should only be requested by incident commanders
when it is considered essential to protect life or property, and the safety of personnel.
Fire and rescue services should gather knowledge about the types of rail vehicles that operate in
their area, as this will help to identify how to establish proportionate control over the railway.
Establishing proportionate control over the railway should be a priority when personnel have to go
within 3m of any track or rail power systems.
The decision for rail vehicles needing to run at caution or stopped, or for the isolation of power,
should be based on a risk assessment and the requirements of the incident. If a level of control is
required, the incident commander should provide the following information to the fire control
room:
Reason for the request
Nature of the incident
What level of control is required, such as:
Rail vehicles running at caution
Rail vehicles being stopped
Power off
Location, using information such as:
Milepost
Signal number
Bridge number
Other identifying feature
Nearest access point
Inform the infrastructure manager of an incident on or near the railway
It may be sufficient to notify the infrastructure manager of some types of incident, such as:
This content is only valid at the time of download - 30-06-2022 20:43 6 of 11Where a small fire can be safely monitored until it is extinguished
A ‘bridge strike’ where a lorry has wedged under a rail bridge, but with no obvious damage to
the rail lines
Rail vehicles running at caution
This approach can be used when there is a need to slow rail vehicle movements, by notifying
drivers that there are people on or near the rail infrastructure. In these circumstances the driver
will adjust their speed to ensure that the vehicle can be brought safely to a halt, if required. An
example would be if personnel are extinguishing a trackside fire more than 3m from the nearest
running rail. This request would not be appropriate for systems using driverless rail vehicles.
Rail vehicles being stopped
The request to stop rail vehicles should be made if there is a risk of personnel being injured by train
movements but will not be in contact with live electrical traction current. As this request can take
time to implement, personnel should not assume that all rail vehicles have been stopped. It may
not be possible to bring the rail vehicle to a stop before reaching the scene of operations.
Depending on the nature of the incident, the rail infrastructure manager may decide to invoke a
‘line blocked' approach. This is used if the line is unsafe for rail vehicles to run.
Power off
This request should be made if there is a significant risk of personnel coming into contact with live
electrical traction current. However, this will not necessarily stop all rail vehicle movements, as
diesel rail vehicles will be unaffected and high-speed electric rail vehicles can coast for some
distance.
If personnel need to work within 3m of any traction power supply, incident commanders should
request electrical isolation of the relevant track sections using the term ‘emergency switch off’. If
the incident involves overhead line equipment (OLE), there is a risk that residual current may
remain, or nearby high voltage power cables may induce an electrical charge into the OLE. When
personnel are working closer than 1m from OLE, incident commanders should promptly request
that the relevant OLE sections are earthed, in addition to being isolated. This can only be carried
out by rail system personnel and confirmed by rail infrastructure managers; until confirmation is
received all OLE should be assumed to be live.
Strategic actions
Fire and rescue services should:
This content is only valid at the time of download - 30-06-2022 20:43 7 of 11Establish the process for fire control rooms to gather information from incident commanders
and relay requests to the appropriate rail infrastructure manager
Tactical actions
Incident commanders should:
Identify the proportionate level of control over the railway
Provide relevant information to the fire control room when requesting proportionate control
of the railway
Seek specialist advice or assistance if required, to determine the proportionate level of
control over the railway
Control measure - Appoint safety officers at
railway incidents
Control measure knowledge
Personnel should not normally work in the vicinity of any rail infrastructure or track until
confirmation has been received that proportionate control of the railway has been implemented.
However, in exceptional circumstances, such as there being an immediate threat of serious injury
or loss of life, actions may need to be taken following an appropriate risk assessment.
In this type of situation safety officers should be appointed, taking into account the need for
additional safety officers on bidirectional tracks. The effectiveness of safety officers will be limited
as, unless the rail vehicle is travelling at slow speeds, it may not be possible for them to relay safety
messages to the scene of operations within the required timeframe.
Safety officers should be equipped with a method to provide warnings, and should position
themselves in a safe location to give the maximum warning time. They should relay their warnings
to a scene of operations safety officer, who will alert all personnel. The scene of operations safety
officer should stand in a place of safety when alerting personnel; giving an evacuation signal should
not put the safety officer at risk.
This content is only valid at the time of download - 30-06-2022 20:43 8 of 11Further information about rail vehicle speeds, sighting distances and how to calculate warning
times can be found in the RSSB publication, Handbook 7 – General duties of a controller of site
safety (COSS) (GERT8000-HB7).
Safety officers may need to use hand signals to instruct train drivers to stop. To do this the safety
officer should:
Move along the line to give as much stopping distance as possible
Stand in a position of safety, facing the train
Signal the driver by:
Raising both arms above the head in daylight
Waving a lamp or torch rapidly in reduced visibility
The delegated responsibilities of the safety officer at the scene will be to ensure:
Personnel maintain safe distances between themselves and the line when trains are still
running
Trains are stopped or cautioned, as appropriate, where personnel need to operate closer
than 3m from the nearest running rail
Operations are conducted safely
Personnel are evacuated if there is imminent danger
Safety officers should not be stood down until:
Confirmation is received that proportionate control of the railway has been implemented
The responsible person has appointed on-site staff to replace the safety officers
The incident is closed and the scene of operations is clear of personnel
When appointing and positioning safety officers to warn for rail vehicle movements, consideration
should be given to:
Risk to personnel including the safety officers
Speed and stopping distances of rail vehicles
Distance from the scene of operations
Footprint of the incident
Topography of the location
Whether the railway is bidirectional
Weather and visibility
Noise level at the scene
Audibility or visibility of messages and signals
Communication methods and evacuation signals
This content is only valid at the time of download - 30-06-2022 20:43 9 of 11Strategic actions
Fire and rescue services should:
Ensure personnel are familiar with the role of the safety officer and their specific duties at a
rail incidents
Tactical actions
Incident commanders should:
Carry out a risk assessment prior to appointing safety officers on railways
Appoint safety officers with a specific brief to warn of rail vehicle movements
Understand the limitations of the warnings on railways that can be provided by safety officers
Stand down the safety officers on railways as soon as appropriate
Control measure - Personal protective
equipment: Railways
Control measure knowledge
Appropriate high-visibility clothing always be worn when attending rail-related incidents, and in
addition to appropriate structural firefighting protective clothing. If there is any doubt about the
required levels of personal protective equipment (PPE), advice should be sought from the
responsible person.
Rail operatives usually wear orange high-visibility clothing; to avoid confusion an agreement about
the colour of high-visibility clothing for fire and rescue service personnel should be made with local
train operating companies (TOCs).
This content is only valid at the time of download - 30-06-2022 20:43 10 of 11Strategic actions
Fire and rescue services should:
Liaise with local train operating companies (TOCs) to agree on the colour of high-visibility
clothing to be worn by personnel
Tactical actions
Incident commanders should:
Ensure personnel wear appropriate high-visibility clothing
Ensure personnel understand what colour high-visibility clothing is being worn by each of the
organisations in attendance
This content is only valid at the time of download - 30-06-2022 20:43 11 of 11You can also read
