Railway Safety
Brief history
Railway Safety is a not-for-profit, wholly-owned subsidiary of Railtrack Group PLC.
The company is limited by guarantee and separate from its operational sister company, Railtrack PLC (in Railway Administration).
Railway Safety operates as a centre of excellence for all matters relating to railway safety. As well as taking over many of the functions of the former Safety and Standards Directorate within Railtrack PLC, Railway Safety has an expanded role to help focus the industry on improved safety management. Their vision is to build a justified public confidence that the railway is safe and developing safely.
Railway Safety has taken over many of the functions of S&SD, with an expended role to help focus the industry on improved safety management.
The company's role is to:
- Lead and develop existing long-term safety strategy for the industry
- Establish new, and maintain existing, Railway Group Standards
- Be an agent for change and raise safety performance through sponsorship of research, development, education and awareness of safety issues
- Lead UK industry representation in development of European legislation and standards that impact on safe interworking of trains and infrastructure
- Measure and report on safety performance and provide safety intelligence, data and risk information
- Carry out independent assessment of Railtrack PLC's and train and safety operators' safety cases (prior to acceptance by the HSE)
- Audit the compliance of Railway Group members with their safety cases and with Railway Group Standards
Safety benefits by friction stir welding
The Part 1 Report of Lord Cullen's Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry acknowledges the need to look for alternatives to fusion welding.
Chapter 13.9 of the report states that 'The experts on crashworthiness were agreed in recommending that consideration should be given, in the case of new vehicles constructed of aluminium, to the following:
- The use of alternatives to fusion welding;
- The use of improved grades of aluminium which are less susceptible to fusion weld weakening;
- The further development of analytical techniques to increase confidence in the crashworthiness of rail vehicles structures, particularly those constructed of aluminium.'
Friction stir welding is seen as the only welding process that can replace fusion welding and therefore it is very important to investigate this process in detail regarding its suitability for rail car manufacture.
Railway Safety's contributions to EuroStir®
Railway Safety is supporting this project through:
- Chairing a workshop in spring 2002, where the rail industry will agree an R&D programme on FSW
- Assessing potential applications of FSW for laying and repair of rail related infrastructure
- Developing criteria for the fitness for purpose assessment of friction stir welded structures
- Developing guidelines and standards for state of the art production methods incorporating FSW
- Producing demonstrator parts and to compare these components with conventionally made components
These will be achieved by initiating an industrialisation study with TWI and by participating in relevant Task Groups according to the project schedule of milestones and deliverables. This will mean that much of this work will have to be achieved by 2003.
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