Attempting IRSE Mod B: Of Railway Accidents and Crashes

I am planning to attempt IRSE examination for module B. There are 4 modules altogether, with module A being a prerequisite for the other modules. The idea is module A covers the overall and asked about ‘everything’ about signalling but at a surface level. Module B, C and D focus deeper, with each module has a bit different take or aspect to the question.

Module B is supposed to focus on the safety aspects of railway signalling, and the systems engineering of it. Since it focuses on the safety aspects, EN 50126, 50128 and 50129 applies greatly, I guess, but it seems to me the best way to learn about safety is to read about accidents and crashes. It is a bit ironic that in order to learn about safety, you have to read about cases where safety was not applied properly, or the safety precautions and designs simply failed, but I guess that’s life; no one gets out of it alive.

A great thing about railway in the UK (and most other developed countries) is that the accident reports are publicly available, and these reports are very long. They do have simplified version or animated videos in certain cases. The body tasked with the reports is the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and their reports are available here.

So far I haven’t finished ANY of the reports 😅 but I am planning to read and skim through all of the major ones. Clapham and Hatfield are among the ‘famous’ ones and is a recommended must-read by most speakers in webinars. London Undeground Kings Cross fire is another accident repeatedly referred to. From what I’ve managed to read and also gathered from webinar talking about safety, accidents are almost never attributed to a single factor, but is usually a culmination of events. And what I learned also from my brief reading is that although accidents is macabre subject, it does enforce a positive thinking that what I do in my day job, although it might not seem significant or grand to me, it is in some ways, contributing to avoiding an accident from happening.

It might also be that this post will encourage you to go and read an accident report, and learn something new to be applied to work. So go ahead and let’s dive into the hundred of pages of rail accidents reports.

Thank you for reading.