Global Level Crossing Safety & Trespass Prevention Symposium 2016 Enabling safe performance at level crossings

Transcription

1 Global Level Crossing Safety & Trespass Prevention Symposium 2016 Enabling safe performance at level crossings Theme 7: Risk Management Mitigating the Level Crossing Risks in an expanding railway environment The South African Approach Dr Cornel Malan South African Railway Safety Regulator INTRODUCTION The South African rail Industry will be changing rapidly over the next five years due to substantial investments in commuter, freight rail infrastructure and new rolling stock. With each expansion, upgrade and acquisition of new rolling stock, the scope of the work of the Railway Safety Regulator increases, given the potential increase in the safety risk in the railway landscape. For the RSR, this changing railway landscape also calls for a regulatory approach that matches these large-scale upgrades and expansions. The RSR has therefore opted to move from a compliance-driven approach to a risk-based, collaborative and outwards-focused results-based approach. Supported by 80/20 Pareto principle, the RSR will be able to focus on the high-risk areas to target those areas which will achieve the greatest impact. This submission will provide insight into the risk mitigation approach of the RSR towards significantly reducing the level crossing occurrences in the South African railway environment. OVERVIEW The vision of the RSR Strategic and Annual performance plan aspires to achieve zero occurrences and all actions and activities will be focused on working towards this vision. One of the objectives contained in the RSR Strategy for 2015/16 is to enable people and rail to co-exist safely through the promotion of a safe increase of rail corridor capacity to meet envisaged future demands. Over time the impact of economic and spatial developments in South Africa has resulted in a changed railway landscape, for example the growth of mining areas in close proximity to railway lines in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and the Northern Cape has led to increased volumes of trains on these lines, as well as an increase in the number of informal and formal settlements in areas such as Brits and Rustenburg in the North West. In other areas such as Muldersvlei, Langeenheid and Paarl in the Western Cape, Hammanskraal in Gauteng and Klaarwater (Pietermaritzburg) in KwaZulu Natal, rapid growth in settlements (informal in most instances) in close proximity to the railway lines, has also resulted in an increase in the number of vehicles and people crossing the railway lines. Page 1 of 6

2 Sadly, in most instances, the level crossing designs were not adapted to the changes and maintenance of such level crossings was also not done at a regular basis. RSR investigations after tragic events at level crossings have highlighted root causes such as poor maintenance, lack of monitoring of level crossings in terms of changes in the volumes and types of vehicles, changes in the rail volumes etc. It has also become evident that the road motorists behaviour of not abiding to the rules of the road as well as the municipalities not providing adequate road warning and/or markings for level crossings further contributed to an increased risk relating to level crossings. The RSR has embarked on an exercise to establish a comprehensive database of all existing authorised level crossings in South Africa, and has therefore requested all operators, where applicable, to provide details pertaining to the location, design, relevant parties involved. To date, the response received from various operators indicate that there is at least 9767 authorised level crossings in South Africa. RSR Approach Focus on Evaluate, Engage, Empower, Educate and Engineer The RSR has adopted a risk-based approach towards significantly decreasing the number of occurrences within the South African railway Industry. As such the RSR Vision of Getting to ZERO is a pro-active approach to drive the number of occurrences down and make the railway operations free of incidents and security related issues. It is about a mind-set, a value, an aspiration and a culture change in the railway industry. The philosophy is that every occurrence can be avoided and that every occurrence is everybody s responsibility. In order to actively track and monitor progress towards achieving targets, a Solution Centric Model has been developed, which forms the RSR way of tackling occurrences and safety challenges in the rail landscape. It is ultimately about improving the public perception of rail safety and making rail the preferred mode of transport. In aspiring to achieve the vision, the following guiding principles have been put in place: Evaluate: We evaluate the state of safety, assess potential risks and provide accurate reports on it Page 2 of 6

3 Engage: We identify and engage with our stakeholders, we unite them behind the safety goal and we collaborate with them to find sustainable solutions Empower: We clarify expectations through setting joint safety targets, enabling regulatory legislation, standards and certification frameworks and through effective planning and implementation of safety strategies. Educate: We provide easy access to knowledge, we conduct campaigns, we create awareness and we influence the perception of the public. Engineer: We promote technology, influence investment plans, evaluate strategic projects and research solutions for safety challenges Enforce: We conduct audits and investigations and we hold the railway industry accountable for achieving excellence in safety (RSR, January 2015). RSR LIFE CYCLE APPROACH According to the South African National Standard (SANS Level Crossing Standard : Processes and procedures shall be established, developed or adopted, documented and maintained by network operators and road authorities for: the upgrading/modification of an existing level crossing, the elimination/decommissioning of an existing level crossing, or the construction of a new level crossing (SABS, 2012). RISK MITIGATION AT VEHICLE LEVEL CROSSINGS Although the total number of level crossing occurrences is low in comparison to other types of operational occurrences, the emotional and social impact of such occurrences is very high. Normally the people involved are members of the public travelling to their place of work, school, or university, which provides immediate opportunity for media attention and negative publicity regarding the railway industry. During the 2014 October Transport Month, the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) hosted the Level Crossing Safety Awareness Campaign in the Western Cape which was attended by the Minister of Transport. A number of challenges were raised at the briefing session with the Minister, which amongst others included a misalignment between rail and road authorities in terms of roles and responsibilities when dealing with level crossings. A resolution was taken that the RSR should establish a project of identifying Level Crossing High Frequency Areas nationally, to recommend Page 3 of 6

4 possible solutions and plans to address the identified High Frequency Areas per province. In providing the necessary support as the Regulator, the RSR is required to form Technical Teams in various provinces involving all the relevant road and rail role-players that will deal with the safety challenges within those Level Crossings, develop mitigation plans and ensure implementation of such in rectifying the safety threats identified. The risk management modus operandi of the established technical committees are as follows: 1. Identification of the high risk level crossings in the province. This is done by means of an historic analysis of occurrences and fatalities over a period of 5 years. 2. Physical inspection and Risk assessments conducted on site at each of the identified high risk level crossings to determine: a. Train and vehicle volumes b. Visibility c. Minimum level of protection required d. Current condition of level crossing e. Gaps in protection f. Corrective actions required g. Responsible entity, i.e. rail or road authority 3. Compile action plan with target dates and deliverables 4. Continued monitoring of level crossing occurrences to identify future areas to be addressed. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS The most suitable solution is to eliminate level crossings where possible. This has been done with some success for example with the erection of a bridge over the railway line in Vlaeberg in the Western Cape a number of level crossings were eliminated. This is however a very costly solutionthe costs for this project was in the vicinity of R70 million for the bridge and around R215 Million for the entire road works project. A more suitable alternative is the installation of technology that would address poor vehicle driver behaviour and allow the train driver early warning of possible vehicles on the crossing when approaching. Engineers at Transnet Engineering (TE) recently devised technology to prevent careless road users from endangering themselves and others when approaching rail lines. The new equipment has been installed at two crossings Boshoek near Rustenburg and Leeupan in Delmas and others are to follow. Briefly, hydraulically operated road barriers rise from the roadway on the approach of a train, physically preventing road vehicles from progressing beyond the crossing stopline. Other sites earmarked for attention include those at Muldersvlei on the Cape Town main-line between Kraaifontein and Klapmuts, and Chavonnes near Worcester. Boshoek Pilot Level Crossing Pilot Site for testing of engineering Solution This system consists of traffic lights installed on both sides of the road in both directions. Four lights are visible on approach to the level crossing from either direction. The crossing is further equipped with booms across the full width of the road in both directions as well as road blockers that prevent road vehicles from entering the crossing on the approach of a train. White indication lights installed Page 4 of 6

5 next to the railway line in both directions indicate to oncoming trains that the system is functioning normally, or not functioning normally. The system is activated by an approaching train when it reaches a predetermined point on the line. The traffic lights normally display green lights to oncoming road traffic. As soon as the system is activated, the lights turn to amber and thereafter to red. The system will check that no road vehicles are on the track and will then lower the booms. Once the booms are down, the steel blockers rise to physically block the road on both sides of the track. Only after the full activation of the system, will the white indicator lights indicate to the train driver that the system is functioning normally (Wahl, 2015) Observations by the RSR level Crossing Specialist after the commissioning include the following: The introduction of TRAFFIC LIGHTS (SS1) is a huge improvement on the old system of FLASHING RED DISKS (FRD), by implementing these systems the flow of traffic over the level crossing is improved tremendously, vehicle drivers are not confused with regards to Flashing Red Lights. The protection system provides actually a dual protection to the level crossing as it is interlocked with the method of trains working that is introduced on that section of the line ( if something went wrong with the protection equipment at the level crossing the signal for the train driver will stay at its most restricted mode (red). All movement over the level crossing is captured by means of CCTV cameras. There is now practically no way that a vehicle can circumvent the boom as the level crossing is now blocked totally. This method of protection is less costly than any other method like a bridge or an underpass. (for the cost of erecting a bridge or a underpass 9 of these systems can be erected) It will reduce the number of occurrences at level crossings ( with the introduction of these system no occurrence were recorded as in the past at especially Boshoek a lot of occurrences were recorded) The system can be monitored from the TCOs control centre as there are indications if the system is functioning or not. Alerts is been send automatically to maintenance personnel in the case of any malfunctioning of the system. (they can actually attend to any faults much quicker than in the past) Page 5 of 6

6 CONCLUSION - MARKED SUCCESSES We are also proud to show that other interventions such as the technical committee activities, awareness campaigns and increased law enforcement have yielded results per the graph below. The RSR remains committed to significantly reduce railway occurrences, towards ensuring railway are safe and reliable and the preferred mode of transport in South Africa. Submitted by Dr Cornel Malan Head: Research Railway Safety Regulator South Africa cornelm@rsr.org.za Page 6 of 6