Safety improves - except at crossings

For the first year in the railway’s history there were no workforce fatalities in 201516 - and Network Rail’s safety statistics reveal a generally improving safety picture.

The lost time injury frequency rate (time lost to injuries and fatalities among NR and contractors per 100,000 hours worked) was 0.492, against a target of 0.511. The number of close calls reported for an incident with the potential for injury or damage also exceeded target, with 140,021 reported. NR says a higher number represents a better performance.

The passenger safety metric (a measure based on the number of high-risk events that happen that are identified as precursors to a passenger safety incident) beat the ‘stretch target’ of 1.899, with a figure of 1.776.

However, the Level Crossing Risk Indicator Model measure was lower than the target of 1.893, with a score of 1.564. This was due to an increase in near-misses with pedestrians, and NR says pedestrian safety remains a cause for concern.