Rail Safety in Australia: Risk and Safety Management

This article discusses the responsibility of the Australian government and the rail industry in maintaining and improving railway safety in the country. It explores the outcomes of the Richmond Train Accident and provides recommendations for reducing rail accidents. The article also covers the policies and safety rules that need to be followed to ensure rail safety.

Running Head: RISK AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT 1
Risk and Safety Management
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date of Submission

RISK AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT 2
Executive Summary
In Australia, rail safety is a responsibility that is shared by the federal government and the
industry. According to the statistical publications of the rail industry of Australia, the
government has been on the forefront when it comes to maintaining and continually assisting in
the improvement of railway safety in the country. The federal government ensures that every
territory and sate in Australia implements the legislation of railway safety as well as establishing
a regulation for the safety of Australian railway. According to the Australian government, it is
the responsibility of regulators to establish standards towards the management of rail safety and
industrial compliance monitoring. The standards must, however, meet the expectations of the
community as well as have the confidence of the public maintained.
The rail industry is considered responsible for addressing issues to do with risk safety
through the identification and implementation of efficient and effective solutions through
systems of safety management. The same industry is also held accountable for meeting or not
meeting safety outcomes required by the federal government. It is the responsibility of the
industry to report occurrences of rail safety to the regulators as part of shared responsibility. The
data provided by the industry is then used to assist the operators and regulators in programs of
safety analysis. Afterwards, researchers and professional in rail safety will use the same data to
mitigate risks and also understand deigns of risk mitigation. The same would be used in
comparative research activities as well as informing people about issues that emerge in the
industry of rail safety. The railway industry’s present database contains the following safety-
critical event types’ frequency counts:
- Collisions

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- Derailments
- Occurrences of level crossing
- SPAD (Signal Passed at Danger)
- Irregularities related to loading
- Civil and track infrastructure irregularity
The data is published jurisdictionally according to counts of frequency for the above
mentioned events. However, the government strives to ensure that the events are normalized with
regards to the industrial size. The normalization data include:
- The kilometers of the train
- Kilometer of the freight-train
- Kilometers of the passenger-train
- Total kilometers of the track
However, there are added frequency counts that are provided for:
- Injuries that are considered serious
- Deaths

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Contents
1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................................5
1.1. Scope...........................................................................................................................................5
1.2. Problem Definition......................................................................................................................5
2. Outcomes of Richmond Train Accident...........................................................................................6
2.1. Rail Safety as a Responsibility of the Government......................................................................6
2.2. Train Accidents Liability.............................................................................................................6
2.3. Lawsuits of Train Accidents........................................................................................................7
2.4. Reports about the Train Speed.....................................................................................................7
3. Recommendations..............................................................................................................................8
3.1. Operation Life-Saver...................................................................................................................8
4. Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................9
5. Reference...........................................................................................................................................10

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1. Introduction
1.1. Scope
According to the statistics provided by the Rail industry of Australia, most of the accidents are
caused by risk and safety negligence. There are a number of causes of rail accidents. However,
most of such accidents are not caused by malfunctions of trucks or errors but safety
inconsideration and mechanical failure (SOLENT, 2015). For those accidents that are cause by
mechanical failure, the percentage is around 10% compared to those caused by risks which stand
at 80%. In relation to rail accidents, this activity will consider discussing accidents caused by rail
safety inconsideration and use “Richmond Train Crash” as one such train crash (Young, 2017).
1.2. Problem Definition
According to the Richmond Train crash, about 18 individuals were injured when the train’s
brakes failed thereby, making the train hit a barrier at the station located in the North-Western
sides of Sydney. A witness that had the entire incident recorded by phone gave a statement that
he saw the passengers flying like “Supermen". As the captain tried to slow down the train, the
brakes failed making the train crash into some buffer that was located at the line’s end
(Australian Government, 2018). According to the reports provided by the police, the train
derailed. On the contrary, the CEO of the train industry – Mr. Howard Collins maintained that
the train was still on its rail when the incident occurred. On the same issue, the NSW Ambulance
reported that about 18 people were injured in that incident. However, those who were able to get
to the hospital were stabilized (Goldberg, 2011).
One of the women who got injured in the incident was treated for possible injury of the spinal
cord and the collar bone. There was also a man of about 22 years of age that was suspected to

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have broken his femur. According to a spokesman for Western Sydney Health District Hospital,
there were six patients that were transferred from the District hospital to Blacktown Hospital.
However, those individuals were discharged. Around five patients were left in Westmead
Hospital in stable conditions (McMillan, 2017).
2. Outcomes of Richmond Train Accident
2.1. Rail Safety as a Responsibility of the Government
The constituting of Australia clearly stipulates that the safety of roads and rails (among other
means of transportation) is a responsibility that is shared by the federal government and the
industry. However, there are a number of statistical publications, as mentioned before, regarding
the safety of rail industry of Australia, that show numerous incidents of accidents due to
negligence. As a result of such cases, the government has been on the forefront when it comes to
maintaining and continually assisting in the improvement of railway safety in the country.
According to the rail safety policies that are stipulated by the concerned bodies, the federal
government is required to ensures that every territory and sate in Australia implements the
legislation of railway safety as well as establishing a regulation for the safety of Australian
railway (Boundless, 2017). However, the government argues that it is the responsibility of
regulators to establish standards towards the management of rail safety and industrial compliance
monitoring. The standards must, however, meet the expectations of the community as well as
have the confidence of the public maintained. Such statistics also show that rail safety negligence
accidents account for 80 percent of the total number of accidents. The industry need to ensure
that trains are regularly serviced to stay in good working conditions. Also, the inability to notice

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obvious issue with the performance of the train is likely to lead to server accidents in time to
come (Young, 2017).
2.2. Train Accidents Liability
Since there are numerous reasons why train accidents would occur, there are also many
individuals and parties that would be held responsible for such accident occurrences. When train
accidents occur, a lot of suffering, pain, medical costs, loss of income, as well as other costs are
incurred. Most likely, those who are held accountable include company owns, train operators,
manufacturers, employees, as well as suppliers. However, there are other affiliate parties that are
likely to be held accountable (USDL, 2017).
2.3. Lawsuits of Train Accidents
There are those who considered filling a lawsuit for he accident caused in Richmond. However,
the correct procedure for doing the same was a problem. The process entails finding an attorney
that one most likely feels comfortable working with. For instance, there are those who
recognized working with the Little Rock injury attorney. This attorney is available at Thomas
Buchanan’s Law Office. The importance of working with the individual is the law firm that the
attorney would work under, has a track record that is proven to be getting excellent results for
any client with accident cases (Australian Government, 2018).
2.4. Reports about the Train Speed
There are a number of witnesses that claim how difficult it was trying to estimate the speed of
the train when the incident happened at Richmond (Palmer, 2017). However, there are a few
individuals that described the incident as “horrifying". One of the witnesses started that he was

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on the platform eagerly waiting for the train to halt but the brakes failed and it crashed at an
absolute speed. The crash left those in the train flying – with most starting the act a similar to
superman. Another individual, Mr. Sullivan, claimed that the incident was insane. He was going
through one of McDonald's drive-when he suddenly heard a loud bang (Buchanan, 2018).
3. Recommendations
Having looked at the Richmond train accident as one of the incidents in Australia, there are a
number of ways that the responsible stakeholders can reduce such cases. Let’s begin with the
policies:
3.1. Operation Life-Saver
This is one of the oldest policies formulated by the Australian government to reduce train related
accidents. The policy has, thereafter, spread to many parts of the world including the US and has
helped save lives by reducing vehicle and train related accidents. According to this initiative, the
government, through the train industry stakeholders, spreads words regarding the safety of train
and how to avoid train accidents (Boundless, 2017). Some of the used media include certified
volunteer speakers, media houses, instructors that are trained, classes of driver education,
professional driver classes, community audiences, officers of law enforcement, and responders to
emergency. These individuals are required to educate individuals regarding programs of safety
education. The initiative also promotes safety of rail tracks via the use of three Es program;
which is enforcement, education, and engineering (Australian Government, 2018).
However, there are other safety rules which include:
- Avoid racing trains towards crossings.

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- Avoid driving around gates that are lowered
- Ensuring that the trailer jacks are placed in the right position.
- The train captain needs to remember that the stopping distance of any particular train
is greater than that of a commercial truck thus, the gears must be engaged early
enough.
4. Conclusion
In this activity, we have identified that the safety of rails is the responsibility of the federal
government and the industry. However, there have been cases of rail accidents though they are
rare. According to the statistical publications of the rail industry of Australia, the government has
been on the forefront when it comes to maintaining and continually assisting in the improvement
of railway safety in the country (Young, 2017). As mentioned before, the federal government
ensures that every territory and sate in Australia implements the legislation of railway safety as
well as establishing a regulation for the safety of Australian railway. However, Richmond’s case
among other rail accidents shows that a lot of work still needs to be done to reduce such cases in
the near future. The government should not leave the work of rail safety to regulators alone but
should also ensure that it establishes standards towards the management of rail safety and
industrial compliance monitoring. Such standards need to meet the expectations of the
community as well as have the confidence of the public maintained (ABC, 2017).

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5. Reference
ABC. (2017) Richmond train crash: 'Horrifying' accident at station in Sydney injures 16. NEWS.
Retrieved 7 September 2018, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-22/sydney-train-crashes-
at-richmond-station-injuring-passengers/9348398
Australian Government. (2018) Rail safety in Australia: Rail statistics. AG. Retrieved 7 September 2018,
from https://www.atsb.gov.au/rail/rail-statistics/
Boundless. (2017). The Impact of External and Internal Factors on Strategy. Boundless.
Retrieved 17 June 2017, from
https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/
strategic-management-12/strategic-management-86/the-impact-of-external-and-internal-
factors-on-strategy-419-1549/
Buchanan, G., T. (2018) CAUSES OF TRAIN ACCIDENTS IN LITTLE ROCK- ARKANSAS
PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY. Retrieved 7 September 2018, from
http://www.thomasbuchananlaw.com/causes-of-train-accidents/
Goldberg, M. (2011) 5 Tips to Prevent Accidents with Trains. Live-Chat. Retrieved 7 September 2018,
from https://www.frg-law.com/blog/5-tips-to-prevent-accidents-with-trains/
McMillan, L. (2017). The benefits and risks of outsourcing | Lexology. Lexology.com. Retrieved
13 September 2017, from: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=e698d613-
af77-4e34-b84e-940e14e94ce4
Palmer, A. (2017). Actuaries Managing Risks. Retrieved 19 March 2017, from
https://actuaries.asn.au/microsites/actuaries-managing-risk
SOLENT. (2015). Policy for Infection Prevention and Control Framework. Retrieved 16
September 2017, from http://www.solent.nhs.uk/_store/documents/ipc01-
policyoninfectionpreventionandcontrolframework.pdf
USDL. (2017). Safety and Health Topics | Personal Protective Equipment - Payment for Personal
Protective Equipment | Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Osha.gov.
Retrieved 16 September 2017, from
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/personalprotectiveequipment/payment.html
Young, M. (2017). An introduction to risk management. - PubMed - NCBI. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
Retrieved 16 September 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12122845

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