The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) today released its annual report for the operational period of 2010.
Under Article 23 of the European Railway Safety Directive 2004/49/EC, the RAIB is required to produce an annual report accounting for the investigations carried out in the preceding year, the safety recommendations that were issued and actions taken in accordance with recommendations issued.
The report, normally to be produced by the 30 September, has been delayed this year as a result of extended communications with ORR concerning the status of the Grayrigg recommendations, which was considered important in view of the Grayrigg inquest. The European Railway Agency (ERA) was notified in September of the delay and is aware of the reasons.
This year it is being published in two sections; Section 1 covers the work of RAIB in 2010, and Section 2 covers the status of recommendations as reported to RAIB.
During 2010, the RAIB published 20 investigation reports (plus one joint report with BE-ATT, the French equivalent to the RAIB), 11 bulletins and started a further 18 investigations. The report makes observations on repeated causes of accidents which may have been prevented by earlier consideration of RAIB recommendations. It also comments on the industry’s handling of recommendations.
In accordance with the requirements of the Railway (Accident Investigation and Reporting) Regulations 2005, Section 2 of the report (Reported status of RAIB’s recommendations - 2010), provides details on the implementation status of recommendations made by the RAIB as reported by the safety authority or other public bodies.
A full copy of the report is available here
Notes to editors
1. The sole purpose of RAIB investigations is to prevent future accidents and incidents and improve railway safety. The RAIB does not establish blame, liability or carry out prosecutions.
2. The RAIB operates, as far as possible, in an open and transparent manner. While our investigations are completely independent of the railway industry, we do maintain close liaison with railway companies and if we discover matters that may affect the safety of the railway, we make sure that information about them is circulated to the right people as soon as possible, and certainly long before publication of our final report.
3. For media enquiries, please call 020 7944 3248.
Newsdate: 14 November 2011
