Train Safety and Risk Management in Australia

This assignment delves into the critical issue of train safety and risk management in Australia. It examines a case study of a recent train accident, analyzing the contributing factors like track maintenance, technical issues, driver negligence, and inadequate infrastructure. The document emphasizes the importance of robust safety procedures, risk identification, and mitigation strategies employed by organizations like the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) to prevent future accidents. It also highlights the need for government intervention in regulating construction near crossings and investigating root causes to enhance overall railway safety.

Running head: SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Executive Summary
In this report, the safety and risk management principles and procedures are discussed. A case
study of a train accident which occurred recently in Kyogle, New South Wales has been
depicted. This case study can help in analyzing the breaches of safety measures which led to the
accident. The policies and procedures that the government needs to change to avoid future
accidents have been reviewed. The procedures for implementation of such policy are discussed.

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Safety breaches that contributed to the train crash......................................................................4
Changes to policy and practice that resulted from the incident...................................................6
Implementation of the policy and practice...................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Reference List..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Safety and Risk management is of paramount importance for the successful
implementation of the safety management system. These days public awareness about safety and
risk has increased. People of various countries are concerned about their safety and thus the
arena of safety and risk management has gained significant importance in today’s first paced
society. The issues related to safety and risks should be evaluated in a structured manner. The
safety and risk management has various techniques which should be understood carefully for
proper management of this area (Hollnagel, 2014). The perception of risk of an individual and
public can vary in certain cases and this should be taken into consideration. The safety and risk
management should comply with the best national and international standards. The fast paced
competitive human race focuses on quantity and efficiency. Thus quality often gets ignored
which poses serious risk to the safety of individuals of a country. Increasing rate of crash of
trains and train accidents are examples of bridge of safety standards (Glendon, Clarke &
McKenna, 2016).
Discussion
The safety and risk management procedure involves hazard identification. Identification
of hazard involves risk identification to property, personnel and the organization. The second
step of safety and risk management is risk assessment. The hazard has several consequences and
the severity and complexity of various consequences of the hazards are analyzed. The third step
of safety and risk management is assessment of risk. In this step, the probability and chances of
the occurrence of risks is analyzed. The fourth step is to analyze the acceptability of the risk
assessment. The risk is accepted if it is within the limit of the safety criteria and if the risk is

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beyond the safety limit, effort is put to reduce the level of the risk and to mitigate the risk
(Haimes, 2015). Risk and safety management is applicable in organizations and in every
industry. There has been an increase of train crashes in Australia and overseas. The increase of
train accidents is the result of safety breaches.
Rail accidents can cause severe casualty and injury to many people. The loss of life due
to train accidents in Australia is a major cause of concern for the government. The injuries
caused to people due to train accidents in Australia and overseas lead to lifelong suffering of the
injured individual as well as the families of the victims are affected greatly by train crashes and
accidents.
In the month of June, a train crash has been reported in New South Wales. The train
crashed into a car in morning hours of fourteenth June. The car was found to be wedged
underneath the train in the crossing of Kyogle, New South Wales. The white colored Holden
Commodore was hit by the train at the crossing of the Andrew Street, which is forty kilometers
north-west of Lismore. The car driver who died in the accident was sixty year old and there was
a dog in the car who was also injured by this train accident which proved to be fatal. However
the driver of the train and the thirty three passengers travelling in it were not injured. The train
was travelling from Brisbane to Sydney. The inspector of detective department reported that the
sixty year old woman who died in the fatal train accident was the resident of Kyogle .Her
husband was not inside the car, however the fatal train accident and the death of the wife has
shocked the husband terribly and he was taken to hospital immediately (abc.net.au/news, 2017).

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Safety breaches that contributed to the train crash
The train crash occurred at the crossing of Kyogle. The crossing was not properly
signposted and there was not much traffic lights. A local witness, David Page has reported that
the train was whistle blowing for a long time and the man saw that the train pushed the car a
couple of meters down the road. The witness who found the deceased lady and the half-dead dog
started a campaign for safer crossing. The safety breaches of the crossing led to this major train
accident which caused the death a woman .The family of this sixty year old woman has also been
hospitalized which throws light on the fact that train crashes in Australia and overseas not only
cause injury and the death to the victims but families of the victims are also adversely affected
by such major accidents (Hopkin, 2017).
The crossing of Kyogle of South Wales has poor infrastructure and is not designed
properly. The poor design of this crossing makes it prone to accidents. The crossing is on two
blind corners and there are high and tall buildings on either side of the crossing which makes it
extremely dangerous for vehicles to travel in this area. The crossing also suffers from poor light
and inadequate light do not provide a clear vision for drivers of vehicles in the crossing of
Kyogle (Leveson, 2015). The witness of the train accident, Mr. Page has been devastated by the
fatal train accident which led to loss of one precious life. He lobbied with local members of the
parliament , the Australian Rail Track Corporation(ARTC) and the council for taking prompt
action to make the crossing of Kyogle of South Wales safer so that repetition of such fatal train
accidents do not occur in the future(Lundgren & McMakin, 2013). The driver of the train
accident has been taken into custody by the police and has been cooperative and has assisted the
police by answering important questions related to the accident. He will also be taken to hospital
for compulsory urine and blood tests (Reese, 2015). Thus it is evident from the above examples,

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that the driver may not have major fault in the train accident. This fatal accident that led to the
loss of one precious life and injury of the dog can be contributed to safety breaches of the
crossing. Construction of buildings in the crossing should be prohibited so that vision of drivers
of the vehicles is not obstructed. The crossings should also have proper signs to direct the drivers
and help them in proper navigation. The crossing should be illuminated by proper lights so that
drivers have clear vision of the roads and accident the crossing of Kyogle can be avoided in
future if these steps are implemented.
Changes to policy and practice that resulted from the incident
The train line was closed for investigation. The police took active steps to probe deeper
into this fatal accident and tried to draw a vivid view of the matter to analyze all probable causes
of the accident. Investigators were appointed from the Office of Transport Safety Investigations
or OTSI. The north coast line remained closed till the investigation was over. A collision is
found to be imminent even if the train driver saw the car (Profillidis, 2014). The driver must
have tried to take proper steps to apply brakes but could not stop at the necessary distance and
rammed into the car. The lobbying to change policy has been done by the local witness Mr. Page
and the council and the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) blocked the line and have
taken initiative to improve the infrastructure and design of the crossing.
Implementation of the policy and practice
The Australian Rail Track Corporation has taken initiatives to change the policy and
practice. They closed the train line and investigation into all probable causes of the fatal train
accident was done (Montibeller & Winterfeldt, 2015). The authorities have taken measures to
improve the signage of the crossing. Steps were also taken to illuminate the crossing with proper
street lights and traffic lights. However the major challenge of safety and risks that is evident in

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the crossing of Kyogle is the creation of blind-spots by the construction of tall buildings on both
sides of the crossing. The government should take proper measure to ensure that such
unscientific construction of buildings is prohibited on major crossings of Australia which poses a
major risk to cause fatal accidents which can lead to mass casualty (Park & Kim, 2013).
Conclusion
The safety and risk management procedures should be adopted by organizations and
every industry. The identification of risk and the analysis of chances of occurrence of risks is a
major step of the safety and risk management. The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC)
and the government should take safety measures and should develop a proper action plan to
implement the safety measures. The increase of train crashes in Australia and overseas can be
due a number of safety breaches like derailment of coaches due to improper maintenance of the
track, technical issues also cause such major accidents and mass casualty. Sometimes the
carelessness of the driver and poor infrastructure of the road can lead to such train crashes and
accidents. Weakness and failures which lead to safety breaches should be analyzed carefully
prior to the application of safety and risk management principles. The case study of the train
accident in Australia will help in the understanding of failures that lead to safety breaches.
Government should take necessary actions to investigate into the root causes of train accidents
which will help in the identification of risk.

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Reference List
Glendon, A. I., Clarke, S., & McKenna, E. (2016). Human safety and risk management. Crc
Press.
Haimes, Y. Y. (2015). Risk modeling, assessment, and management. John Wiley & Sons.
Hollnagel, E. (2014). Safety-I and safety–II: the past and future of safety management. Ashgate
Publishing, Ltd..
Hopkin, P. (2017). Fundamentals of risk management: understanding, evaluating and
implementing effective risk management. Kogan Page Publishers
Leveson, N. (2015). A systems approach to risk management through leading safety
indicators. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 136, 17-34.\
Lundgren, R. E., & McMakin, A. H. (2013). Risk communication: A handbook for
communicating environmental, safety, and health risks. John Wiley & Sons.
Montibeller, G., & Winterfeldt, D. (2015). Cognitive and motivational biases in decision and risk
analysis. Risk Analysis, 35(7), 1230-1251.
Park, C. S., & Kim, H. J. (2013). A framework for construction safety management and
visualization system. Automation in Construction, 33, 95-103.
Profillidis, V. A. (2014). Railway management and engineering. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd..
Reese, C. D. (2015). Occupational health and safety management: a practical approach. CRC
press.

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abc.net.au/news/ (2017). train accident. Retrieved 31 August 2017, from
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-14/nsw-kyogle-driver-dead-after-car-hit-by-a-train-
at-crossing/8616302