TRAIN accidents in which people are killed remain at one of their lowest ever levels, says a new report.

Last year one person died as a result of a train accident, an elderly woman who was killed in the Grayrigg derailment.

She was the first on-board person to die in a train crash since 2004, the year of the Ufton Nervet derailment in which eight people died after a High Speed Train hit a car on a crossing.

The figures were revealed in the annual safety performance report for 2007, which show that railway safety is still improving although there are some areas giving cause for concern – especially level crossing accidents.

Three people died in vehicles involved in collisions with trains at crossings and nine pedestrians were killed – four more than in 2006.

Industry experts have said that level crossing accidents are potentially the most likely to lead to catastrophic results.

Anson Jack, director of policy, research and risk with the Rail Safety and Standards Board, said: “This is a significant challenge for the railway and for local authorities. The industry is doing most of the appropriate things that it can do. The Government would have to eradicate all the crossings in Britain, as they have done in Israel, and install bridges to remove the risk.”

Rail industry safety experts believe improvements in technology and a desire by senior managers to keep safety at the top of the agenda is playing a major role in improving safety.

Colin Dennis, RSSB head of safety and planning, said more checks were being made on bearings and wheels of rail vehicles and track quality was ‘far better’.
There had also been a big emphasis on driver training with use of simulators to cut the number of Spads – Signal Passed At Danger.

The report reveals that last year there were:
- 25 derailments, seven involving passenger trains, mostly caused by landslips and/or trees on the line. Six passenger train collisions recorded, at low speeds, with no reports of serious injuries.

- Eight passenger deaths in individual accidents – five died at stations, two fell or jumped from moving trains and one was the victim of an attack.

- 263 ‘public fatalities’, with 206 suicides or suspected suicides, 43 trespassers, 11 non-trespassers using level crossings and three non-trespassers in stations. Research shows peak time for trespasser deaths is around midnight and alcohol can be a factor. The commonest age for trespasser deaths is between 17–19.

- Passengers suffered 233 major injuries – 28 were injured at Grayrigg – but the number of people being injured in slips, trips and falls at stations dropped. The major injury rate stood at one per five million journeys – 25 per cent lower than five years ago.

- 128 rail staff were seriously injured in 2007, 70 of them track workers. But that is half the level of track worker injuries in 2004.

- Train drivers show a lower fatality rate than drivers of lorries and vans, but a higher death rate than professional bus and coach drivers.

- Seven rail staff suffered serious injury. Annually the industry loses more than 10 person years as a result of assault-related injuries, shock and trauma. In a typical week there are 90 reports of assaults or abuse against staff. Around 15 result in physical injury and 20 in ‘shock and trauma’.