Historic moment as brake van instructions dropped

THE LATEST updates to rail freight operating rules have seen the final removal of the requirement to provide brake vans in some circumstances. The use of a brake van to supply braking from the rear of a train was once common but the increasing use of the continuous brake was the start of the end from the 1950s. The need for a brake van on trains fitted with continuous brakes was lifted in 1968, and by the early 1980s such trains were extremely rare.

The Rail Safety & Standards Board showed that brake vans have not been much used on revenue services for around 30 years, but reference to their required use in some circumstances continued, including in the Working Manual for Rail Staff — Freight Train Operations (the ‘White Pages’).

On March 6 the White Pages were withdrawn and the instructions moved to the Rule Book, which contains similar rules for other safety-critical tasks. RSSB said the opportunity was taken to make modifications to more accurately reflect modern activities and remove no longer relevant requirements.

However, the use of brake vans is still referred to in some documents, recognising the fact they could still potentially be deployed in bespoke situations.