System Safety: The challenge of the Sandilands tram accident

Rail safety expert Professor George Bearfield (RSSB) explains the safety challenges in the aftermath of the Croydon tram tragedy – free lecture Thursday 19 April

SEVEN passengers perished and more than 60 were injured when a tram overturned in Croydon in November 2016.  How can experts learn from such incidents, so that safety improves in the aftermath of tragedy?  A University of Huddersfield professor gives a free public lecture that explains the challenge.

Titled Enhancing System Safety: The Challenge of the Sandilands tram accident, the lecture takes place at the University on Thursday 19 April (6.30pm) and is delivered by George Bearfield, who is Director of System Safety and Health at the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB).  He is also Visiting Professor of Railway System Safety at the University of Huddersfield, home to the Institute of Railway Research.

Professor Bearfield recalls his shock and horror when he heard news of the tram disaster.  But then his training in safety and risk management meant that he began to look for lessons to be learned.  It was the same in the wake of mainline rail disaster in the 1990s – such as the Ladbroke Grove crash – which led to effective measures that made the railways safer.

In his lecture, Professor Bearfield will reflect on the British railway industry and how actions have supported the evolution of a health and safety culture in the national rail network.

The Croydon derailment was a tramway accident.  The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has recently published its report on the disaster, making a range of recommendations.  Many of the issues are of wider relevance, says Professor Bearfield.

“The RSSB is a mainline rail body, but obviously we always look for lessons learned in similar sectors and environments, because a lot of the learning is transferable.  One of the factors that has come out around this incident – as it does for many incidents across the main line rail as well as the tram sector – is the issue of workforce fatigue.  That is something we are hugely engaged in for the rail sector.”

The public lecture by Professor Bearfield on April 19 takes place in the Brontë Lecture Theatres (Brontë Lecture 2) with light refreshments from 6pm.  Attendance is free, and can be registered online.