Collecting evidence from distributed sources to evaluate railway suicide and trespass prevention measures.

It can be difficult to select from available safety preventative measures, especially where there is limited evidence of effectiveness in different contexts. This paper describes application of a method to identify and evaluate wide-ranging preventative measures for rail suicide and trespass fatalities. Evidence from literature and industry sources was collated and reviewed in a two stage process to achieve consensus among experts on the likely effects of the measures and factors influencing their implementation. Multiple evaluation criteria were used to examine the measures from different perspectives. Fencing, awareness campaigns and different types of organisational initiatives were recommended for further testing. This is the first time evidence has been collected internationally across such a range of preventative measures. Commentary is provided on using this type of approach to select safety measures from a pool of prevention options, including how re-framing the scope of the exercise could identify alternative options for prevention. Practitioner summary: The findings give insight to how different measures work in different ways and how industry can consider this in strategic initiatives. The method could be used in future studies with different frames of reference (e.g. different timescales, level of ambition and safety context e.g. railway crossings or highway fatalities). Abbreviation: RESTRAIL: REduction of Suicides and Trespasses on RAILway property.

Prevention of railway trespassing by automatic sound warning-A pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a sound warning system on the frequency of trespassing at 2 pilot test sites in Finland. METHODS: The effect of automatic prerecorded sound warning on the prevention of railway trespassing was evaluated based on observations at 2 test sites in Finland. At both sites an illegal footpath crossed the railway, and the average daily number of trespassers before implementation of the measures was about 18 at both sites. RESULTS: The results showed that trespassing was reduced at these sites by 18 and 44%, respectively. Because of the lack of proper control sites, it is possible that the real effects of the measure are somewhat smaller. CONCLUSIONS: The current study concludes that automatic sound warning may be efficient and cost effective at locations where fencing is not a viable option. However, it is not likely to be a cost-effective panacea for all kinds of sites where trespassing occurs, especially in countries like Finland where trespassing is scattered along the railway network rather than concentrated to a limited number of sites.

Effect of railway safety education on the safety knowledge and behaviour intention of schoolchildren.

This study was designed to evaluate whether railway safety lessons are effective in increasing schoolchildren's safety knowledge and behaviour intention. The railway safety education in schools included a 45-min lesson on safe behaviour in a railway environment directed at 8-11 year old schoolchildren. The lessons were held in four schools located near railway lines in Finland. The effectiveness of this measure was evaluated based on a short survey directed at pupils before the lesson (base level) and around 2-3 months later (post-lesson) based on three variables which are considered as strong determinants of actual behaviour: behaviour intention, estimated dangerousness of the behaviour, and level of knowledge on the legality of the behaviour. The results show that the change in the share of correct answers was positive regarding all questions except for one question in which the difference was not significant. Based on this we can reasonably assume that railway safety education in schools can have a positive effect for all the measured variables, although the effect is not necessarily large. The results indicate that these positive changes can have a positive effect on the frequency of trespassing (i.e. fewer unsafe crossings in the future). We can further assume that reduction in the frequency of trespassing would reduce the frequency of trespassing accidents.

The development of railway safety in Finland.

This study reviews the development of railway safety in Finland from 1959 to 2008. The results show that the level of safety has greatly improved over the past five decades. The total number of railway fatalities did not show any obvious decreasing or increasing trend during the first decade, but since the early 1970s the annual number of fatalities has decreased from about 100 to 20. The estimated overall annual reduction per year from 1970 to 2008 was 5.4% (with a 95% confidence interval from -8.2% to -2.6%). The reduction in subcategories per million train-kilometres from 1959 to 2008 was 4.4% per year for passengers, 8.3% for employees, 5.0% for road users at level crossings and 3.6% for others (mainly trespassers). The safety improvement for passengers and staff was probably influenced by the introduction of central locking of doors in passenger cars and improved procedures to protect railway employees working on the tracks. The number of road users killed at level crossings has fallen due to the installation of barriers and the construction of overpasses and underpasses at crossings with dense traffic, removal of level crossings, and an improvement of conditions such as visibility at crossings. The number of trespasser fatalities has seen the least decline. Key plans for the future include further reduction of the number of level crossings on the state railway network from the current roughly 3500-2200 by 2025, and involving communities in safety work related to railway trespassers.