East Coast Sees Reduction in Passenger Accidents

UK rail operator East Coast said that the number of accidents involving passengers and staff fell by 10% between November 2009 and November 2010.

Accidents involving passengers on trains fell 29%, passengers taken to hospital fell by 53% and assaults on rail staff fell by 25%, according to new figures.

East Coast attributed the improvement in safety results to a campaign carried out in the last year since the train operator took over the franchise.

The safety campaign included introducing a 72-hour fast-track review process for any accident that resulted in major injuries to staff or passengers or resulted in a loss of staff working days.

A review of safety systems is also currently under way to produce the latest safety standards that can deliver continuous improvement in safety performance.

In addition, the number of staff working days lost through injury is down by 50% from 1,453 in 2009 to a projected 750 this year.