LTSA rail newsletter

Issue Two, September 2003

Welcome to the second edition of the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) Rail Safety Section newsletter for the rail industry in New Zealand. This newsletter is distributed to all operators and other interested parties around the country. We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that this, and the first edition of the newsletter are also available on the LTSA website: www.ltsa.govt.nz/rail/newsletter

In this issue:

Railways Bill tabled in Parliament
Safety system variations
New staff member joins the LTSA rail team
International benchmarking project
LTSA rail safety reviews
Rail accident and incident notification

1. Railways Bill tabled in Parliament

The Railways Bill was introduced to Parliament on Tuesday 8 July. It had its first reading on 29 and 31 July and was then referred to the Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee for consideration.
Public consultation is now underway on the Railways Bill. This means you have the opportunity to put a submission to the select committee on the content of the Bill. The LTSA is unable to comment on the Railways Bill while it is before the select committee. If you wish to discuss the Bill in light of making a submission, your enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Transport (MOT). For detailed information on the Railways Bill and how to make a select committee submission visit the MOT website: www.transport.govt.nz

You should also have received an information pack from the MOT.

2. Safety system variations

The LTSA wishes to remind operators of the importance of always operating within the boundaries of your approved safety system. It has come to our attention that at least one operator has been engaging in activities lately that fall outside these limits. This means they are no longer complying with their Rail Service Licence conditions and the LTSA cannot be assured that they are operating safely.
If you wish to change the nature of your operation, either temporarily or permanently, you must first apply to the LTSA for a safety system variation. We will consider the changes proposed and, if appropriate, approve a variation to your safety system. This way you will be able to carry out a variety of activities with our approval in accordance with the Transport Services Licensing Act 1989 knowing that the necessary safety measures are in place should an accident or incident occur. The LTSA does not charge for considering small variations.

The LTSA recently became aware (well after the event occurred) of the filming of a stunt of a potentially dangerous nature. We expect to receive no further surprises of a similar nature. Safety system variations will be considered with a view to accommodating a full range of activities in a safe rail environment.

3. New staff member joins the LTSA rail team

Merv Harvey has recently joined the Rail Safety Section of the LTSA as the Principal Rail Safety Advisor, and we profile him here.

Merv has 25 years experience working in the rail industry for Tranz Rail Ltd (TRL) and its government-owned predecessors, followed by four years working at the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, where he was General Manager Building Operations.

He is qualified as a Civil Engineer and has held various positions throughout his career in rail relating to management of the track infrastructure including General Manager Track and Structures. Merv was closely involved in the development of TRL's quality and safety systems that were put in place to achieve ISO9001/9002 certification and to obtain a rail service licence from the LTSA.

Merv was pleased to get back into the rail industry by joining the LTSA Rail Safety Section, assisting with the planning for and implementation of the Railways Bill (see earlier item).

Merv will be establishing guidelines, with the industry, for the submission and approval of safety cases for new licenses along with transitional arrangements from the existing legislation. An assessment regime will also be developed in place of the existing audit programmes.

This work should see Merv getting out in the field to interact with industry members to gain a greater appreciation of the wide range of rail operations within New Zealand.

LTSA Rail Safety Team

Below is diagram showing the Rail Safety Section team structure, and who holds each position.

4. International benchmarking project

The LTSA has recently released to participants the 2001 results of an international benchmarking survey that has been undertaken annually for the past three years. This survey assesses a variety of safety-related data from participants in a wide range of countries with differing rail systems. The data is used to prepare charts showing the results obtained by the participants. The identity of all participants in the study is kept confidential to the LTSA and no individual participant can be identified by other participants.

The LTSA does not make any judgements or inferences from the benchmarking results each year. We simply present the charts along with the data to participants. Each participating country judges their individual performances against other participants taking into consideration their own unique set of circumstances.

We are keen to continue with some form of benchmarking because it enables us to compare New Zealand safety performance with what is achieved elsewhere. However, three important problems have emerged as the project has developed.

The first is the difficulty in getting common terminology amongst participants. Examples are the definitions of serious injury, trespassers, employees (as compared with contractors), and signals passed at danger (SPADs).

The second is the quite different results that come from railways around the world with different environments and technologies. Metros in large cities, for example, often have few if any level crossings, whereas a regional or national railway operating overland may have many. Finally, it is apparent that as rail reform takes place in many countries, some statistical data is not readily available. Private companies are not obliged to make information available and many do not wish to do so because they consider the data is commercially sensitive.

We are currently seeking feedback from the benchmarking project participants on this year's results and the benefits they gain from participating in it. From our perspective, the exercise is very worthwhile. It has given us indications of areas where New Zealand's safety performance warrants further investigation, (such as level crossing collisions), and much better insight into the problems of benchmarking.

5. LTSA rail safety reviews

From time to time the LTSA reviews various aspects of the railway industry around the country. Significant safety issues being brought to our attention, which are felt to merit further analysis, are the focus of these reviews. Recently we have completed a review of Tranz Rail's signals and related operations in relation to SPADs. The recommendations resulting from this review have recently been made public. The key recommendations were:

More comprehensive information on SPAD incidents should be included in the notification to the LTSA. This will assist the LTSA in overseeing and regulating the rail industry.
Signals identified as high-risk should receive engineering input in an expedient manner.
Improvements to the operation and responsiveness of fault monitoring and reporting systems should be sought.

Tranz Rail and the LTSA have worked together to ensure the recommendations are implemented.

The LTSA is in the early stages of a review of the South Island rail coal route extending from Lyttelton on the East Coast through to Rapahoe and Ngakawau on the West Coast. This review is being carried out on behalf of the LTSA by Australian rail specialists Kellogg Brown & Root Pty Ltd (formerly Halliburton KBR). The review will focus on the overall operation of the line with regard to coal trains and passenger services.

6. Rail accident and incident notification

It has come to our attention that a number of operators may be using outdated rail accident and incident notification forms that contain several incorrect contact numbers.

The most recent version of the form (with the correct contact details) was produced in 2000 and is included in the Rail safety licensing and audit guidelines (PDF, 974 KB). All operators should hold a copy of these guidelines.

The accident and incident notification forms are located at the end of this document.

Please update the contact details with the correct numbers as required.

Finally

We would also welcome feedback regarding this newsletter or any other rail-related topics for possible inclusion in the next edition of the newsletter. Please forward your comments to info@ltsa.govt.nz

Editor:
Rob Gould
Policy Analyst

Last updated: 11 September 2003