International Rail Safety Network
International Rail Safety Network (IRSN)
Chairperson: Doris Horvath, CFL
Members: CFL, CP, INFRABEL, JR-Group, ÖBB, RENFE, RSSB, SNCF, SBB, Trenitalia.
The members of IRSN meet 3 times a year
IRSN is a subgroup of the UIC Safety Platform Steering Group (SPSG) with the goal to foster safety for Railways taking into account the operation process by:
- Exchanging safety experiences and backgrounds
- Learning from each other
- Facilitating good and trusting relations among railway safety experts.
Results 2018
- Profound information about safety issues
- Intense exchanges about special safety topics with experts of the hosting companies on the following topics:
- Shunting operations
- Measures taken to avoid collisions with buffer stops
- GSM-R
- Radio alert
- Campaign on increasing the awareness of young people to respect rules around railways tracks (Trespassing, level crossing)
- SPAD Action Plan (Investigation, improvement and awareness)
- Project Signal Aspects (Identifying hotspots)
- Methodology for hotspot analysis for trespassing and suicides
- Methodology to define level crossing hotspots
- Safety culture programme (Safety culture – fair culture)
- Benchmarking / Surveys for comparing safety practices in different companies on the following topics:
- Survey on railway accidents due to trespassing
- Survey on shunting methods (technical and organisational measures)
- Survey on shunting issues
- Survey on prevention of railway suicides
- Survey on measures taken to avoid collisions with animals on tracks
- Survey about the mission and the organisation of the safety department in different companies
Programme 2019
- Continuation on exchanging on the themes listed above
- Exchange of safety experience
Further topics to explore:
- Distraction by new medias and use of electronic devices
- Fair and just culture
UIC contact
Isabelle Fonverne: fonverne@uic.org