Office of Rail and Road launches review of Light Rail Safety and Standards Board

The Office of Rail and Road has launched a review to assess whether the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board (LRSSB) is on track to deliver its Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) recommendations following the Croydon Tram crash at Sandilands on 9 November 2016.

The review will:

• Assess whether the intent of RAIB’s Sandilands recommendations have been achieved;
• Whether LRSSB has the ability to enable sector progress on RAIB’s Sandilands recommendations 2 to 6 thus far and whether its forward business plan adequately continues to seek to address them and make the required progress;
• Consider whether what has been delivered by LRSSB is supporting change and adding value to the industry into the foreseeable future. LSSRB would particularly like feedback on whether any blind spots in planning, engagement and strategy are identified so it can use this as a tool to shape future activity; and
• Look at the impact of the funding on the work of the LRSSB and whether in its current form it enables LRSSB to continue to grow in a sustainable manner and whether this allows LRSSB to fully commit to the Terms of Reference of the body.

ORR’s approach to the review is set out in its terms of reference that highlights a number of key elements it will follow to ensure it conducts a proportionate progress review.

As the safety regulator of Britain’s railways ORR has been monitoring the progress of the LRSSB since it was established in 2019.

This review is a temperature check to assess whether LRSSB is on track with enabling the delivery of the relevant recommendations from RAIB within the sector, and ensure it is on a firm footing as it leads the standards of the sector and continues to evolve.

A full report will be published in early 2022.

Carl Williams, Chief Executive of the LRSSB, commented: “When the LRSSB was first established, we invited the ORR to carry out a review of our initial work on the recommendations made by the RAIB following the Sandilands tragedy. It was agreed that this would take place during the first two to three years of LRSSB operations, and we welcome this evaluation process.

“Since Sandilands, the sector has worked tirelessly on fulfilling specific recommendations made by the RAIB and the LRSSB has taken the lead in a number of areas, including extensive research into the most appropriate driver inattention and speed monitoring systems, the development of a comprehensive framework for risk management and mitigation, and a sector-wide database for incident reporting. Further research projects, including studies of obstacle detection/avoidance, tram vehicle glazing and driver fatigue monitoring, are planned for the coming months.

“While much has been achieved in a relatively short period of time, there is still more to do, and we look forward to working closely with the ORR on the review as we strive to drive continuous safety improvements through standardisation, collaboration, research and shared best practice.”

Photo credit: Office of Rail and Road

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