2 Communication within the rail industry
8. The National Audit Office found that, in nearly
one in five incidents it reviewed, communication within Network
Rail was poor, particularly between the incident site and the
control centre.[19] One
reason is that some parts of the rail network are not covered
by mobile phone signals. To address this, Network Rail is introducing
a new radio system to provide staff with robust communication
links across the country.[20]
The National Audit Office found that communication between Network
Rail and the Train Operating Companies was generally effective,
although it did find some examples where meetings were not held
to discuss the best way to manage an incident. Integrated control
centres, which bring together staff from Network Rail and Train
Operating Companies, now cover virtually the whole network and
are helping to improve performance through quicker communication
and more effective decision-making.[21]
9. The emergency services, such as the fire and
rescue services, do not always know how to contact Network Rail.
Network Rail acknowledges that the emergency services may not
have the right contact details to enable them to communicate promptly
with its staff. Many emergency services have only infrequent dealings
with the rail industry and may not deal with a railway incident
in any year. Network Rail is now acting to ensure that all emergency
services have up-to-date contact details for relevant Network
Rail staff.[22]
10. Parts of the rail network, particularly those
adjacent to industrial sites, are vulnerable to disruption because
of lineside fires involving acetylene gas cylinders. In these
circumstances, the fire service can impose exclusion zones up
to 200 metres from the fire. This can result in the suspension
of rail services for long periods until the cylinders are made
safe. Network Rail is working with the London Fire Brigade to
investigate new ways to tackle this problem, including trialling
the use of remotely operated vehicles to assess and deal with
cylinders, allowing incidents to be resolved more quickly.[23]
11. The rail network is virtually impossible
to secure against fatalities, particularly suicides. Network Rail
is working with organisations such as the Samaritans to target
known suicide spots and is training staff to spot potential suicides,
although many deaths are not near stations. In any fatality, the
emergency services work on behalf of the local coroner who has
ultimate jurisdiction over the body. In some parts of the country,
Network Rail has not secured effective cooperation with coroners.[24]
12. Network Rail investigates major incidents
in a thorough and structured manner, resulting in a detailed incident
report setting out lessons to be learned and examples of best
practice. However, these reports, which are produced in each of
Network Rail's eight geographic routes, have hitherto not been
systematically analysed on a national basis and their findings
and recommendations have not been used across the network.[25]
Network Rail is now routinely looking at incident reports and
sharing best practice across the country.[26]
Train Operating Companies also investigate incidents to improve
the way they manage them and deal with passengers. These are not
as detailed as the reports produced by Network Rail, although
some Train Operating Companies are beginning to use a similar
structure to that of Network Rail.[27]
19 C&AG's Report, para 2.9 Back
20
Qq 22-24 Back
21
Q 38; C&AG's Report, paras 2.10-2.13 Back
22
Q 54 Back
23
Qq 108-109; Ev 12; C&AG's Report, para 2.16 Back
24
Qq 40, 102-105 Back
25
C&AG's Report, para 2.26 Back
26
Q 25 Back
27
C&AG's Report, para 2.27 Back
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