Annual report on the safety of trains

Transcription

1 Annual report on the safety of trains 2010

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3 A. REMINDER OF THE REGULATIONS... 5 B. PRELIMINARY SECTION Introduction Information relating to the network and changes in the railway sector The European Scene C. ORGANISATION OF THE EPSF Presentation of the organisation Relations between EPSF and its principal partners D. THE DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAY SAFETY Important facts Initiatives aimed at improving safety performance Detailed information on the analysis of the trends E. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS F. CHANGES IN SAFETY CERTIFICATION AND APPROVAL Effect of changes in the regulations Numerical data Procedural aspects G. SUPERVISION OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGERS AND RAILWAY UNDERTAKINGS Description of the supervision of Infrastructure Managers and Railway Undertakings Measures taken as a result of inspections H. SUMMARY I. CONCLUSION ANNEX A: INFORMATION RELATING TO THE NETWORK AND CHANGES IN THE RAILWAY SECTOR A.1: Map of the national rail network (RFN) A.2: List of the railway undertakings and the Infrastructure Manager ANNEX B: ORGANISATION CHART OF THE FRENCH RAILWAY SAFETY AUTHORITY - EPSF B.1 Figure: internal organisation B.2 Figure: Relations between EPSF and its principle partners ANNEX C: COMMON SAFETY INDICATORS C.1 Common safety indicators data C.2 Definitions used in the report Safety report 2010 /54 3

4 ANNEX D: SIGNIFICANT AMENDMENTS TO THE LEGISLATION AND THE REGULATIONS APPENDIX E: CHANGES IN THE CERTIFICATION AND SAFETY AUTHORISATION NUMERICAL DATA E.1 Safety certificates issued in accordance with Directive 2001/14/EC E.2 Safety certificates issued in accordance with Directive 2004/49/EC E.3 Safety approvals in accordance with Directive 2004/49/EC E.4 Procedural aspects - Safety certificates Part A E.4 Procedural aspects - Safety certificates Part B E.6 Procedural aspects - Safety authorisations Safety report 2010 /54 4

5 A. Reminder of the regulations The annual report on the safety of trains in 2010 meets the requirement for the Établissement Public de Sécurité Ferrovaire (EPSF) [French Railway Safety Authority] to supply the information specified in amended Article 17 of Decree of 19 October 2006: 'Before 30 June of each year, the Infrastructure Manager and the railway undertakings shall send to the EPSF a report on safety for the previous calendar year. From this information the EPSF shall prepare a report on the safety of railway traffic and send this before 30 September to the Ministry responsible for Transport, to the Land Transport Accident Investigation Agency and to the European Railway Agency'. It shall also supply information to the European Railway Agency (ERA) which will enable it to prepare a summary for the whole of the European Union. Safety report 2010 /54 5

6 B. Preliminary Section 1. Introduction The safety report is prepared from information received from the Railway Undertakings and Infrastructure Managers in their respective safety reports as well as that collected by the Departments of the EPSF. Its purpose is to: - summarise the railway safety information for the European Railway Agency; - present the elements that have occurred in It is addressed to: - the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing; - the European Railway Agency; - the Bureau d'enqûetes sur les accidents de transport terrestre (BEA-TT) [Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau]; - the Railway Undertakings (RUs) holding a safety certificate; - the authorities and businesses which hold a safety approval. It is made available to the general public on the internet site of the EPSF at the following address: 2. Information relating to the network and changes in the railway sector Pursuant to Article L of the Transport Code, the remit of the EPSF is to ensure that the regulations regarding safety and interoperability of rail transport are observed on the national rail network and on other railway networks that have similar operating characteristics to those defined in the decree. The EPSF, as the national safety authority, carries out its remit of inspection and supervision on the national rail network and lines defined by Decree of 12 October 2010, that is to say the French part of the international section between Perpignan and Figueras. In total this network contains km of main lines. 2.1 The French rail network The area for which the EPSF is responsible The EPSF does not get involved with: - the RATP railway system; - the departmental railways; - the urban metro and tramway systems; - the railway in Corsica. These railways are subject to the control of the State, in fact of the Prefect who is supported in this matter by the Service technique des remonteés mécaniques et des transports guidés (STRMTG) [Technical Department for cable cars and guided transport]. Safety report 2010 /54 6

7 The EPSF also approves the operating safety regulations of the port railway systems and works as a consultant in support of the French delegation to the conférence intergouvernementale (CIG) [Intergovernmental Conference] on the cross channel fixed link but does not carry out inspection functions for these railways The réseau ferré national (RFN) [national rail network] The RFN comprised km of lines in service at the end of This system is managed by Réseau ferré de France (RFF) [French Railway System] a national public company with an industrial and commercial character set up by Law No of 13 February RFF is, in particular, responsible for the maintenance of the network and the allocation of paths. The principal characteristics of this network are as follows: km of electrified lines of which km are electrified at V, km at 25 kv and 126 km with a 3rd rail; km of main lines of which km are double track and km are single track; km of high speed lines; level crossings administratively listed of which some (source RFF) are on lines open for traffic. During the year there were two important developments: - The Haut-Bugey line was modernised and partially put back into service to improve the journey time for the TGVs between Paris and Geneva; - The Mulhouse tram-train project to connect the urban services of Mulhouse and Thann. Investments in network renewal EUR million has been allocated in 2010 for the renewal of 954 km of track of which 88.5 km on the high speed lines and the renewal of 261 points and crossings on the conventional system. The replacement of wooden sleepers completed on UIC lines 1 to 4. The amount of investment on renewal of structures and earthworks was EUR 137 million in 2010 which enabled the following projects to be completed: - replacement of 36 metallic decks and major repairs on Garabit viaduct; - structural renewal on 12 tunnels, four by consolidation of the roof with concrete. In addition, during the annual summer closure of RER line C (operation Castor) work was carried out to consolidate the roof and foundations; - strengthening of the brickwork or the concrete of 15 bridges; - consolidation of 119 earthworks. EUR 152 million was allocated in 2010 for the renewal of signalling installations. A total of EUR 17 million was allocated to telecommunications installations in A map of the national rail network is given in Annex 1. RFF publishes annually the reference document of the network, with an exhaustive description of the technical characteristics of the network, which also explains the procedure for application and allocation of paths and tariffs. This document is available on its internet site The line from Perpignan to Figueras The line from Perpignan to Figueras is 24.6 km long and double track on French territory The traffic The number of million train-km in 2010 (487) fell by 3% compared with the year before, which represents a further decline after the reduction of 7% reported between 2008 and Passenger traffic expressed in billion passenger-km has declined by 0.2 % (85.8) with respect to Safety report 2010 /54 7

8 Billions of passenger-km by type of traffic TGV Corails (and other main line) trains TER Transilien Passenger traffic has grown steadily during the last few years. Between 2006 and 2010 it increased by 8% from 79.5 to 85.8 billion passenger-km. This increase was in both national and regional traffic. There was, however, a reduction of traffic apart from the high speed lines. This was due, in particular, to the transfer of part of the activities after the opening of the European East high speed line. The trend for freight traffic on the other hand is negative. The volume of traffic has been declining since In 2010 there has been a certain stabilisation of freight traffic. Combined transport represents 24% of rail freight. Billions of tonne-km by type of traffic National International Transit 2.2 Changes in the sector In 2010 the changes in the railway sector were mainly to do with the introduction of the Direction de la circulation ferroviaire (DCF) [Railway Traffic Department] planned by the Law of 8 December This organisation included from 1 January 2010: - the train planning staff in the national timetable office and the regional and local offices; Safety report 2010 /54 8

9 Europorte France ECR SNCB VFLI Colas Rail Europorte Channel CFL Cargo TSO TPCF CFR Eurostar Int. Ltd OSR France Renfe - the operating staff and signalmen at the station signalboxes; - the regional infrastructure regulators and coordinators at the operational centres for management and traffic; - the regulators and coordinators in the infrastructure sector of the National Centre for Railway Operations; - the managers necessary to achieve these tasks. Moreover the 'ORTF' law [law relating to the organisation and regulation of rail transport] of 8 December 2009 authorised the free competition on rail transport for international passengers. 2.3 Railway Undertakings (RUs) holding a safety certificate On 31 December 2011, 14 railway undertakings held a safety certificate and were, therefore, entitled to operate rail transport on the RFN. These are the only undertakings operating a commercial service and holders of a community railway licence. In France, companies which do track maintenance work on RFN and tourist railways as well as trains coming from branch lines, are not required to hold a safety certificate. Besides SNCF which launched its commercial service prior to obtaining a safety certificate, the table below shows the years in which the companies concerned launched their commercial services. The starting dates of the commercial activity of railway undertakings possessing a safety certificate in the course of validation are given in Annex A It can be seen that the introductions to commercial service accelerated in The demand for safety certificates for the carriage of passengers by rail follows the opening to competition of international railway passenger services in December However, no services of this type have been carried out other than those of Eurostar International Ltd which has directly introduced services that were previously run by SNCF and Eurostar UK. The diagram below shows the fleet as a percentage of locomotives and railcars in 2010 by railway undertaking holding a certificate. This shows the order of magnitude relative to the activity of each of these undertakings. More detailed figures are supplied in Annex A.2. Safety report 2010 /54 9

10 Distribution of fleet (locomotives+railcars) in 2010 VFLI 1% TPCF 0% TSO 0% CFL CARGO 0% CFR 0% EUROSTAR Int. Ltd 1% Europorte Channel 0% Europorte France 1% OSR France 0% SNCB 0% ECR 2% COLAS RAIL 1% SNCF 94% 3. The European Scene 3.1 The national reference values and the common safety objectives Pursuant to Article 6 of Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and Council, a community approach has been put in place for railway safety. This is based on three principles: - development of shared measuring tools, common safety indicators (CSIs); - monitoring the level of safety reached in each country and for this establish national reference values (NRV) for each of the principle indicators; - fixing for all the countries a minimum common objective, in the form of common safety objectives (CSOs). The NRVs and the CSOs have two distinct roles: The NRVs are calculated by country on a series of statistics of previous events and enable it to be seen whether each country maintains its level of safety. The CSOs are intended to define some safety objectives for each country to observe. For the time being, the CSO is defined as the NVR from the highest of all the European countries and has no incentive for France. The methods of calculation of the NRVs and the CSOs were laid down by the decision 2009/460/EC of the European Commission of 5 June This describes some common methods of calculation in order to guarantee the homogeneity and the coherence of the values. Safety report 2010 /54 10

11 BE BG CZ DK DE EE IE EL ES FR IT LV LT LU HU NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK This approach is recent. The quality of measurement of these indicators is, according to the European Railway Agency which is responsible for collecting this data and publishing an annual report on the railway safety performance in the European Union, improving but still has some way to go. 3.2 The safety performance of the French railway network within the European Union A synthetic safety indicator is the ratio of the weighted number of deaths and serious injuries (WDSI) caused by a railway accident related to the traffic expressed in train-kilometres. It corresponds to the National reference values NRV 6 of the 'risks for society'. The diagram below shows the different NRV 6 figures for the European Union: NRV 6 of the risks to society (x10-9) 0 It can be seen that with a figure of 180 WDSI per billion passenger-kilometres, against a maximum of 2590 corresponding to the CSO, France is one of the countries in which the level of safety achieved is among the best in the European Union. Safety report 2010 /54 11

12 C. Organisation of the EPSF 1. Presentation of the organisation The organisation of the EPSF is based on its principle tasks which are: - the preparation, for the account of the Minister of Transport of the regulations which are prepared on the community level by participation in the working groups of the European Railway Agency or on the national level; - the granting of authorisations for vehicles, elements of infrastructure or new lines as well as the safety certification of railway undertakings or Infrastructure Managers. The EPSF also approves training organisations; - the supervision by inspections or audits of the various operators; - the holding of registers of licences and registrations. There are two technical departments, Authorisations & Monitoring and Reference Material & Europe. A General Secretariat provides common support: human resources, finance, etc. At the end of 2010 the organisation had 101 staff. The detailed organisational chart is given in the Annex. 2. Relations between EPSF and its principal partners The EPSF in its capacity of national safety authority deals with all the organisations in the French railway sector. This is particularly true in dealing with applications from the entities which apply for authorisations, in checking that they are observed and approaching them when writing the national regulations. Beyond these 'national' tasks, the EPSF participates actively in the various tasks of the European Railway Agency and maintains good relations with the other national safety authorities (NSAs). Finally the EPSF maintains close relations with the entities listed below (Annex B.2): - The Directorate General for Infrastructures, Transport and the Sea - Directorate of Transport Services (DST) of the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing which supervises EPSF and prepares the French regulations; - the Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau. EPSF monitors the implementation of the recommendations put forward in the reports of BEA-TT; - the Mission du Transport des Matières Dangereuses (MMD) [Carriage of Dangerous Goods Task Force (CDG)]; - The Direction de la défence et la sécurité (DDSC) Directorate for Civil Defence and which is consulted as required by the EPSF during the examination of the files for authorisation of the introduction into commercial service of new infrastructures regarding the problems of emergency evacuation. Safety report 2010 /54 12

13 D. The development of railway safety 1. Important facts Several of the railway accidents that occurred in 2010 resulted in an investigation by BEA-TT: - the derailment of wagons carrying dangerous goods at Neufchâteau (88) on 22 May 2010; - the derailment of a freight train at Bully-les-Mines (62), on 29 July 2010; - the collision between a TER and an HGV on a level crossing at Gimont (32), on 27 September 2010; - the collision between a TER and a coach on a level crossing at Auxerre (89), on 14 December 2010; - the collision between a TER and a car on a level crossing at Recquignies (59), on 20 December There were also several notable events which were the subject of special monitoring by the EPSF with regard to the potential consequences which they might have produced: - the crash into a pile of rocks by a TER between Vierzy (02) and Soissons (02) on 24 February 2010; - the derailment of a freight train at Pas-de-Lanciers (13), on 11 May 2010; - the derailment of a freight train at Haubourdin (59), on 19 May 2010; - the derailment of a freight train at Nesle (80), on 7 July 2010; - the derailment of a freight train at Saint-Amour (39), on 4 August 2010; 2. Initiatives aimed at improving safety performance 2.1 L Établissement public de sécurité ferroviaire [The French Railway Safety Authority] In 2010, the EPSF: - organised four meetings to share experience during which all the RUs/IMs authorised by the EPSF shared their experience on the trends observed by EPSF and the incidents of which the description, the analysis and the resulting action plans arising from them were presented by the railway operators. - organised four quarterly meetings between EPSF / DST / RFF / DCF / SNCF IM during which methods to improve the level of safety and performance of the RFN Infrastructure Manager were analysed; - published a monthly note giving information of the most significant incidents which was sent to all the undertakings and Infrastructure Managers; - published a second version of an application guide for use by training centres to obtain approval; - participated in numerous national and European working groups. 2.2 The Infrastructure Managers The infrastructure of the RFF network The management of the system RFF and the SNCF-IM together carried out a project to improve the level of safety of the infrastructure of the national railway network in 2009 which was based on an action plan to do with the maintenance Safety report 2010 /54 13

14 of the network. This followed an alert sent out by the EPSF in July 2009 due to a series of incidents of track geometry defects or earthwork faults saw the completion of almost all the 38 actions in the programme; their implementation was the subject of an audit in March and April 2011 that confirmed the launching of the actions which were on the national, regional and local level. In 2010 the DCF prepared the operating documents and particular rules. It followed-up and, in addition, adapted the local operating instructions to take account of the arrival of new railway undertakings. The prevention of individual accidents RFF has allocated EUR 30 million to carry out the policy of improving level crossings in order to significantly reduce the number of deaths in 2010 compared with The actions undertaken have several objectives: the prevention of accidents on level crossings by means of: abolition of about a hundred level crossings (six by building bridges or tunnels) in 2 010; actions to introduce standards and improve safety (assessment of level crossings to improve and define improvement actions). 53 operations enabled 150 level crossings to be dealt with; initiation of experiments with equipment designed to improve the safety of level crossings and the installation of the first two types of crossing radar; prevention (by holding prevention days on level crossings). the prevention of people being struck by trains while crossing the track by means of: improvement of communication and prevention based on the type of people at risk; detailed analysis of the accidents and their circumstances; comparison with the policy carried out by other European Infrastructure Managers. the prevention of people being hit by trains outside stations by dealing with the risk of intrusion into railway premises. The phase of preparing a list of the zones at risk on the RFN was completed in The prevention of train accidents The programme of fitting signals with KVB beacons has now been completed ( signals involved). RFF has carried out an active monitoring on this subject and examined the relevance of adapting its policy of fitting the network with speed control systems or crossing checks TP Ferro TP Ferro obtained its safety authorisation issued by the EPSF for the international section Perpignan Figueras on 18 December The railway undertakings SNCF The Safety Audit Department was reorganised in 2010: the five audit centres situated in the provinces (Amiens, Châlons-en-Champagne, Chambéry, Limoges and Rennes) have been attached to the Department. The object of this was to improve the product by standardising the methods of working and the presentation of reports. SNCF confirmed for 2010 a favourable long term trend on the number of critical events. The accent placed on the fundamentals during the last few semesters is a predominant factor for the continued improvement of performance. In 2010, priority was, in particular, given to making better use of feedback from the REX [feedback] system. This effort will be followed up in The question of the interfaces between the different players is considered as central to this effort. For this SNCF has established itself in its perimeter of responsibility in a 'systematic' approach. This basic theme will be continued in 2011 and beyond. Safety report 2010 /54 14

15 Some investments designed to improve safety have been made within different activities. The principle ones are the following: - introduction of the management of doors by lines; - the investment in the signal d alarme à frein inhibable (SAFI) [inhibitable brake alarm signal], the improvement of the ergonomy of driving cabs and improvement of the safety of door operation; - The light driving simulators which will be introduced to the traction and freight depots during the second half of Similarly, mobile simulators have been obtained which are intended for the training of the Cadre Transport Traction (CTT) [Management of Traction and Rolling Stock]. Finally, SNCF has studied the introduction of a tool using the technologies of virtual reality designed to assist learning during the initial and continuing training of drivers EURO CARGO RAIL (ECR-FR) ECR carried out an important reorganisation in 2010 to do with: - the movement of the operating centre from Nancy to Paris; - the creation of a Safety Department; - the setting up of four regions for the management of its production. ECR has focussed on getting all the ECR entities involved in safety; Department, centres and regions. The regions must follow up the authorised operators and deal with incidents in a more professional way. The training centre must enable the monitoring and the traceability of the training actions to be improved. The safety actions have been monitored in each of the centres (operational, maintenance, training, procedure, documentation and safety). The involvement of all the players has led to the improvement of the Système de gestion de la sécurité (SGS) [Safety management system] and enabled the documentation for the new SGS to be consistent with the old VFLI The objective in 2010 was to focus again on the fundamentals of the management system, in particular: - consolidation of the knowledge of the procedures related to the job done; - improvement of the professional approach to each safety function; - improvement of documentation management; - improvement of the feeding system and revision of the files of the individual operators; - focussing on continuous training COLAS RAIL In the field of documentation management, Colas Rail has appointed an expert charged with the management of the maintenance documentation for: - carrying out an exhaustive verification of the safety documentation in possession of the safety operators; - alerting the staff to the importance of management documentation B-CARGO The various reorganisations within the freight department of SNCB have lead to the setting up of the 'Safety division' B-BC.37 in five sections which carry out the following tasks: - setting up and monitoring the safety management system; - analysing incidents/accidents; - feedback of experience; - internal prevention and work protection department (PPT); - RID; - permanent training; - technical advice (inspection of trains, loading). Safety report 2010 /54 15

16 The 'REX' process has been kept thus enabling all the files in progress to be monitored and to decide the actions to be taken. A global 'Safety' action plan lists all the actions to be taken during these meetings and during the inspections, internal and external audits CFL Cargo As part of the maintenance and improvement of safety programme, CFL Cargo has: - increased its resources in order to apply a systematic check to the recordings of the traction units (remote inspection); - increased its staff level to meet the French legislation as far as employment and social legislation are concerned as well as the conditions of work applicable in France; - reorganised its traffic by setting up a Lorraine platform of activity on the ground where part of the operations carried out has been transferred to Bettembourg marshalling yard. CFL Cargo has also introduced some actions to achieve '0 accidents to people' and '0 railway incidents' on the UP BELOR in 2010 in: - setting up a traceability system of ground operations; - organising a REX on the elements put into the service bulletins following checks and audits as part of the Système de gestion de la sécurité/système de gestion de la qualité (SGS/SGQ) [Safety management system/quality management system] EUROPORT CHANNEL Following the reorganisation put in place on 1 December 2009 Europorte Channel has not changed its safety perimeter. The actions to improve the situation carried out by Europorte Channel in 2010 concern in particular: - level 1 and 2 checks on contractors carrying out subcontracted tasks; - training on RAT; - maintenance and continuous improvement of the level of safety for the staff exercising safety functions EUROPORTE FRANCE The process of safety improvement is achieved by the introduction of a plan d actions qualité sécurité (PAQS) [safety quality action plan]. This concerned five branches of Europorte France, the workshops at Gray and the command post. In 2010, Europorte France continued the examination of all the driving records by carrying out a complete analysis of the ATESS [Static System to Capture and Process Dated Related to Safety] events found. The feedback of experience initiative was done on the national level by publication of safety information on the themes of rolling stock and driving, commenting on these documents to the operators and including them in the drivers training days. The internal check has been carried out by management or operational audits and by inspections, one of the themes of which was 'The manufacture of a train' TPCF TPCF has not changed its organisation since the start of its activity. When its activity started in July 2010, TPCF focussed its activity on the monitoring of safety operations. The end of 2010 consisted essentially in a phase of observation EUROSTAR INTERNATIONAL Ltd An important reorganisation took place on 1 September 2010 which led to the creation of Eurostar International Limited (EIL). To avoid too severe a reorganisation and in order to guarantee the GAME character in the safety management system, EIL has kept the principles applied in each country. An important project is in progress to harmonise the general documentation of the undertaking as well as that applicable to the operators taking account of the changes in the regulations. Safety report 2010 /54 16

17 For the other RUs: OSR, CFR and RENFE These undertakings commenced their railway activities at the end of 2010 and their principle activity as far as safety was concerned was the introduction of their SGS. 2.4 BEA-TT Five investigation reports from the BEA-TT, which resulted in recommendations, were published in They concern: - the collision between a train and the load of a passing train that occurred on 20 May 2009 in Livernant Tunnel; - the derailment of two wagons carrying dangerous goods on 24 November 2009 at Orthez; - the collision between a TER and a coach on 3 February 2009 at Nevers; - the collision between a freight train and an HGV at Laluque on 25 September 2009; - the collision between a TER and a coach which occurred on level crossing No 68 at Allinges on 2 June Among the events in 2010 that were investigated by the BEA-TT, the two derailments at Neufchâteau and Bully Grenay required protective measures to be taken by the EPSF regarding the types of wagons involved in these incidents. In general, the EPSF and the BEA-TT regularly exchange information on the nature and the causes of the incidents that occur as they are carrying out their tasks and mutual prerogatives. Thus the EPSF may decide that immediate measures are necessary. For its part the BEA-TT carries out a technical investigation which can lead to recommendations. It is then up to the EPSF to see whether these are carried out, in particular, when there are inspections. 3. Detailed information on the analysis of the trends The analysis of the trends is based on the common safety indicators defined and listed in Annex C5. In accordance with Annex 1 of European Directive 2004/49 amended by European Directive 2009/149EC, the indicators of accidents listed in this paragraph concern the significant accidents. Some corrections have been made in order to take into consideration the new facts or the errors of classification discovered after the publication of the 2009 report. 3.1 Killed and seriously injured The table below and the diagrams in Annex C show a falling trend for almost all the categories of people 'killed' or 'seriously injured' in a railway accident. Killed Seriously injured Passengers Staff Level crossing users Unauthorised persons Others Total Table1: The number of fatalities and seriously injured people 2008 to 2010 In general, the number of seriously injured victims of railway accidents is definitely falling. The number of passengers and staff killed or seriously injured remains at low levels and the number of victims on level crossings, which was the principal cause, is noticeably falling. It should be noted that the trend in the number of incidents (collisions and breaking of barriers) is also falling unlike the trends observed recently in road safety. Safety report 2010 /54 17

18 The distribution of deaths in percentage by category changes as a result. Even if it is users of level crossings and unauthorised persons who represent almost all the deaths in 2010, the category of unauthorised persons becomes the major cause of deaths. This is consistent with the finding that it is the only category of person for which the number of deaths has increased. The reduction in the number of users of level crossings killed is in line with the reduction in the number of collisions on level crossings in Overview of performance 0,40 0,35 0,30 0,25 0,20 0,15 0,10 0,05 Relative number of accidents per million train-km The relative number of significant accidents in 2010 is 0.32 accidents per million train-km. This figure is less than that for 2009 (0.34). Nevertheless the observable trend on diagram N10 of Annex C remains on the increase (because of the average values over five years for the calculation). The relative number of people killed and seriously injured per million trainkilometres is less than the figures for These values confirm the reducing trend found since The analysis by category of people is given in the paragraph below. 0,250 0,200 0,150 0,100 0,050 0 Relative number of deaths and serious injuries per million train-km Killed Seriously injured 2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0,0 Relative number of precursors per million train-km The relative number of precursors per million train-km has significantly increased in 2010 going from 1.17 in 2009 to 2.00 in This is explained basically by the increase of the indicators 'number of broken rails' and 'number of signalling failures'. The details of the analysis of each of the precursor indicators is given in paragraph 3.4 below. Safety report 2010 /54 18

19 3.3 Accidents broken down by type Relative number of collisions per million train-km Even if the total number of significant accidents is less than in 2009 the two categories of accidents 'collisions' and 'derailments' are the subject of a deterioration in the number of events per million trainkm compared with the years 2008 and Comparison with the figures for 2007 is difficult in view of the change of scope for these indicators. The increase is particularly sensitive for collisions with collisions per million train-km against in This is explained by the modification of the scope of the calculation which since 2010 includes collisions with animals. Malicious acts have contributed to the increase of this indicator. Regarding the relative number of derailments, the increase is less pronounced. The number in absolute terms of these types of events is the same as in 2009 but because of the 3% reduction of traffic in train-km, the indicator has increased slightly from in 2009 to in ,03 0,02 0,01 0,04 0,03 0,02 0, Relative number of derailments per million train-km Relative number of accidents on level crossings per million train-km 0,12 0,10 0,08 0,06 0,04 0, The number of accidents on level crossings per million train-km has fallen compared to 2009 from to ,14 0,12 0,10 0,08 0,06 0,04 0,02 Relative number of accidents to staff per million train-km The relative number of accidents per million trainkm has increased slightly from in 2009 to in 2010 and remains high compared with previous years. Safety report 2010 /54 19

20 Relative number of fires on rolling stock per million train-km 0,04 0,03 0,03 0,02 0,02 0,01 0, The relative number of fires on rolling stock fell significantly in 2010 (0.012) after a very bad year in 2009 (0.032). The value for 2010 remains higher than in the years 2008 and ,10 Relative number of other accidents per million train-km 0,08 0,06 0,04 0, The relative number of 'other' accidents per million train-km is about the same as the figure for Accident precursors 0,80 Relative number of broken rails per million train-km 0,60 0,40 0, The relative number of broken rails was higher in 2010 (0.778) than in 2009 (0.583). The severe meteorological conditions at the beginning and the end of 2010 partly explain these results. Safety report 2010 /54 20

21 0,40 0,30 0,20 0,10 Relative number of track twists per million train-km The relative number of track twists was slightly higher in 2010 (0.329) than in 2009 (0.323). This figure should be put into perspective in view of the better flow of information following the action plans to improve the control of the safety of the infrastructure of the national rail network introduced in Relative number of signaling failures per million train-km 0,80 0,60 0,40 0, The relative number of signalling failures was higher in 2010 (0.659) than in 2009 (0.562). Relative number of signals passed at danger per million train-km 0,28 0,24 0,20 0,16 0,12 0,08 0, The relative number of signals passed at danger was slightly lower in 2010 (0.230) than in 2009 (0.236). This reduction was more pronounced for the passing of signals on the main line (6% with respect to 2009) Relative number of wheels and axles fractured per million train-km Fractured wheels Fractured axles 0.02 It concerns a very small number of events (between 1 and 2 per year). However they remain exceptional on French railways. These events which can cause the derailment of freight trains are potentially very serious. Safety report 2010 /54 21

22 E. Significant changes in the legislation and regulations The most important new legislation and regulations are the following: Law No of 12 July 2010 on the national commitment to the environment This law, in particular Section II, Chapter III, deals with measures regarding the development of alternative modes to road for the transport of freight. In particular, this law gives to coastal ports the status of railway Infrastructure Managers. It also provides that the arrangements for the port railway systems of the independent river ports (Paris and Strasbourg) should be identical to that of the railway systems of the coastal ports. Finally the safety certificates of the railway undertakings valid on the RFN are also valid on the port railway systems. Order No of 28 October 2010 on the legislative part of the Code of Transport This order completes the work of codification which results in the 'reorganisation' of the majority of the legislative provisions regarding transport in the Code of Transport. Decree No of 29 June 2010 on the certification of train drivers Decree No of 29 June 2010 on the certification of train drivers specifies the conditions of issue of the train driver's licence. It also specifies the tasks, the organisation and the functioning of the Railway Commission set up on 1 January 2011 at the Ministry responsible for transport. This railway commission for aptitudes is also a court of appeal if the decision of a doctor or a psychologist is detrimental to a driver. Decree No of 13 July 2010 on the safety and interoperability of the railway system This Decree amends certain provisions of Decree No of 19 October It modifies the requirements regarding the skills of the staff allocated to tasks that are essential for safety. For train drivers it introduces, in addition to the licence, the certificate issued by the railway undertaking or the Infrastructure Manager for whom the driving is done. The railway undertakings and the Infrastructure Managers must also fix the conditions of physical and psychological abilities of the people allocated to the tasks other than the driving listed in the abilities order. The Decree specifies the authorisation and introduction procedures for public transport systems, which the EPSF are involved with for new or substantially modified systems. It simplifies the authorisation procedure to introduce a new or substantially modified vehicle into commercial service, in order to take advantage of the authorisations granted in other member States of the European Union. It specifies the tasks of the entities in charge of maintenance (ECM). Finally the Decree updates and enhances the provisions regarding the registration of vehicles, with the introduction of a European number and a register of vehicles registered. The introduction of these formalities in France is organised by the EPSF. Decree No of 12 October 2010 specifying the list of other railways that have comparable operating characteristics to those of the RFN This Decree adds to the field of application of Decree No , the French part of the international railway section of the high speed line between Perpignan and Figueras (Spain) as the railway system has operating characteristics comparable to those of the RFN. This part is therefore under the control of the EPSF. Order of 19 February 2010 amending the order of 1 July 2004 on the requirements applicable to rolling stock running on the RFN. This Order amends the order of 1 July 2004 on the requirements applicable to rolling stock running on the RFN. It introduces the notion of entity in charge of the maintenance of wagons and specifies in an annex its rôles and tasks, the procedures and conditions of its certification, as well, as the requirements which the organisations in charge of this certification must satisfy. Safety report 2010 /54 22

23 Order of 30 July 2010 specifying the safety indicators for railway accidents and incidents as well as the complementary indicators for which the public railway safety authority can ask for information The Order specifies the definitions of the community safety indicators that the railway undertakings and the Infrastructure Managers must communicate quarterly to the EPSF as part of the evaluation of the safety level planned by Directive 2004/49/EC. It specifies in addition that the EPSF can ask for additional indicators. Order of 6 August 2010 on the certification of train drivers The Order defines the requirements for the train driver's licence (level of initial education and physical and psychological aptitudes, general professional knowledge) and the procedure for issuing, suspension and withdrawal of this licence. In addition it specifies the requirements for certification, the obligations of the employer for the issue of these certificates and the competence required for training organisations. Order of 27 October 2010 on the registration of railway vehicles mentioned in the second paragraph of Article 57 of the Decree of 19 October 2006 on the safety of railway journeys and the interoperability of the system The Order specifies the procedure and the documents to be sent to the EPSF by the holders of these vehicles to obtain a European registration number and getting it entered in the register, as well as the conditions to do with the right of access to the vehicle register of the holder and of the entity in charge of the maintenance of the vehicle. Order of 30 November 2010 on the operation of the simple safety installations and amending the Order of 23 June 2003 on the safety regulations applicable to RFN and the Order of 28 April 2004 on the safety regulations of the operation of RFN The Order specifies the simple safety installations which can be operated by trained and authorised staff for the functions of service staff or head shunter without being a signalman. The designation of these installations shall be done at the latest by 31 December 2011 in the consignes locales d exploitation (CLE) [local operating instructions]. In addition to these arrangements, the order amends the safety regulations for the operation of the RFN and updates certain provisions of the regulations to do with formalisation of the communication procedures, shunting conditions, train operation conditions, knowledge of the line, malfunctions of the on-board automatic equipment, and passing trains carrying dangerous goods in certain tunnels. Order of 9 December 2010 amending the order of 29 May 2009 on the transport of dangerous goods by land transport (called the 'TMD Order') This order amends the order on the carriage of dangerous goods of 29 May It specifies that the amendments come into force on 1 January 2011 but that the provisions of the amended order of 29 May 2009 on the carriage of dangerous goods by land transport (called the 'TMT Order') applicable before this date can be applied until 30 June Safety report 2010 /54 23

24 F. Changes in safety certification and approval 1. Effect of changes in the regulations 1.1 Issue of safety certificates pursuant to Article 10 of Directive 2004/49/EC Pursuant to Article 68 of amended Decree of 19 October 2006 on rail traffic safety and interoperability of the railway system, since 1 May 2007 all new safety certificates processed and the amendments to a safety certificate already granted have been issued in accordance with Article 10 of Directive 2004/49EC. An Order of 6 April 2010 on the frontier sections of RFN, amending the order of 14 April 2008 on the safety certificate and the order of 30 July 2003 on the conditions of physical and professional aptitude and the training of staff authorised to exercise safety functions on the RFN was published on 22 April This amendment to the order of 14 April 2008 introduced a simplified procedure for application for a Part B safety certificate by a railway undertaking, holding a safety certificate in a bordering State and desiring to gain access to the frontier sections of the RFN listed in Annex 3 of this Order. This procedure aims to recognise the Part B, regularly neglected, valid on the adjacent frontier section. It has not been used in The Order of 21 October 2010 was published in the Official Journal of the French Republic of 30 October It specified the special procedures for the application of Articles 28 and 42-I of the Decree No of 19 October 2006 on the safety of railway traffic and the interoperability of the railway system specific to the Trans-European transport systems as well as the conditions for the application of the Orders specified by this same Decree on the railway systems offering comparable operating conditions to those of the RFN. This Order now covers the section of line between the Spanish frontier and Perpignan Station via the international section governed by the agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Spain signed in Madrid on 10 October The EPSF investigates applications for certificates from railway undertakings which want to run services on this section of line and exercises the corresponding control procedures. (EU) Regulation No 1158/2010 of the Commission of 9 December 2010 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union of 10 December This deals with a common safety method for the assessment of the conformity to the requirements for obtaining railway safety certificates that have: the procedure which a national safety authority must apply in order to assess whether applications for safety certificates meet the requirements of Directive 2004/49/EC; the evaluation criteria which a National Safety Authority must use. 1.2 Issue of safety certificates pursuant to Article 11 of Directive 2004/49/EC The Order of 21 October 2010 was published in the Official Journal of the French Republic of 30 October It specified the special procedures for the application of Articles 28 and 42-I of Decree No of 19 October 2006 on the safety of railway traffic and interoperability. This order specifies by reference to the provisions applicable on the RFN the provisions applicable to the section of line between the Spanish frontier and Perpignan Station via the international section governed by the agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Kingdom of Spain signed in Madrid on 10 October The EPSF has, therefore, investigated the request for Safety report /54

25 a safety certificate from the company TP Ferro, the Infrastructure Manager, and will be responsible for monitoring it. 1.3 National safety rules relating to railway undertakings and Infrastructure Managers State regulations (laws, decrees, orders) are available on the site and the EPSF website: The operating safety regulations that apply to railway undertakings (consisting of the texts required by the Order of 23 June 2003 amended by the orders of 7 December 2006, 12 August 2008, 17 June 2009 and 30 November 2010, on the regulations applicable on the national rail network and texts produced by the Infrastructure Manager under Article 10 of the amended Decree ) are supplied to them on request, by the RFF Infrastructure Manager on CD-Rom. 2. Numerical data In 2010, safety certificates were issued or amended for 12 undertakings: VFLI, Trenitalia Spa, Euro Cargo Rail (ECR), Train du pays Cathare et du Fenouillèdes (TPCF), Compagnie ferroviaire régionale (CFR), Eurostar International Limited (EIL), Europorte France (EPF), Europorte Channel (EPCH), On site rail (OSR) France, Crossrail benelux, SNCF and Renfe. For the first time, a safety certificate was issued for the international carriage of passengers to EIL. In 2010, one undertaking obtained the renewal of its safety certificate. This was ECR. In 2010, one Infrastructure Manager obtained a safety approval. This was TP FERRO for the French part of the international section of the Perpignan - Figueras line. The numerical data are given in Annex E. 3. Procedural aspects 3.1 Part A safety certificates Eight applications for new or amended certificates were granted during Part B safety certificates 19 applications for new or amended certificates were granted during One of these requests was made in Main reasons for updating or amendment The main reasons for updating or amendment were as follows: - running on new sections of line of the national rail network; - amendment of the operational organisation Cost of issuing a certificate There is no charge for services relating to the appraisal of an application for a safety certificate. However, the work load arising from the investigation for a simple safety certificate (or a major modification) can be estimated at two person-months or a total of EUR The information given Safety report /54

26 by the railway undertakings enable the cost of the compilation and preparation of the file to be estimated at six person-months, or EUR to EUR These sums do not include the expenses connected with the organisation of safety in the railway undertaking Feedback on appraisal of files No particular difficulty has been noted. Certificates have generally been issued in times considerably less than the legal limit. 3.3 Safety authorisations TP FERRO, acting as Infrastructure Manager of the French part of the international section of the Perpignan Figueras line, obtained a safety authorisation dated 15 December To take account of the international character of this section of line, the EPSF appraised the application form from TP Ferro in collaboration with the services concerned of the Spanish 'Ministerio de Fomento' which carries out the rôle of safety authority.. Safety report /54

27 G. Supervision of the Infrastructure Managers and Railway Undertakings 1. Description of the supervision of Infrastructure Managers and Railway Undertakings 1.1 Safety checks and monitoring Checks 78 checks consisting of 43 audits and 35 inspections were carried out in 2010 by the EPSF on the RFN, or an increase of 50% compared with Of the 43 audits carried out, 25 were audits of the 'systematic type' part of the group of subjects defined in advance and 18 were the audits called 'ad hoc'. Regarding the 'systematic type' audits, the theme for 2010, picked out from the subjects of the SGS, was all the activities connected with the management of documentation (general organisation and management of the process, management of the documentation that originally came from outside, production of the internal documentation, distribution and control systems and REX put in place). 1.2 Number of audits of RUs/IM carried out in 2010 IM RU Training centres Others Number of systematic audits Total number of audits carried out (OQA) 1.3 Number of inspections of RUs/IM carried out in 2010 IM RU Training centres Others Number of inspections carried out Of all the ad hoc audits, two of them attracted particular attention: the audit carried out on the regulation of safety which can be used as evidence and that on the coexistence of operation. The audit on the regulations which can be used as evidence involved both the designers, the producers and the users of these regulations and enabled all the entities audited to put forward their difficulties of application or understanding of the regulations for the introduction of the safety certification. As to the audit of how several undertakings operate on one site, this audit focussed, in particular, on the choice of the principles selected to organise the simultaneous presence of different railway undertakings on one site, the preparation and the conditions of amendment of the local operating instructions and their consideration by the RUs for the preparation of the local operational instructions Monitoring In 2010 the 'Database' of incidents section recorded more than operating incidents, of which directly affected safety. All the information reaches this group from the sources of information of the IM and RUs. The EPSF sent out eight consecutive safety alerts, either due to the recurrent character of an incident, or the necessity of quickly informing all the RUs, holders of wagons and other national safety authorities because of the seriousness of events necessitating the introduction of recommendations or the taking of protective measures. For example, after the derailment at Neufchâteau on 22 May 2010, the EPSF in association with the BEA-TT, which was responsible for the investigation, took protective measures regarding wheelsets. Safety report /54

28 The EPSF has continued to organise the feedback from the 'System' in Four meetings have been held of representatives of all the RUs authorised to run on the RFN, the IMs, as well as the representatives of the Ministère de l ecologie, du développement, des transports et du logement MEEDDTL [Ministry for ecology, sustainable development, transport and housing] and BEA-TT. The discussions at these feed-back meetings have, in particular, covered: - the sharing of good practices that have been identified; - the sharing of the feedback following the presentation of an incident or accident; - debates on common problems. In addition to the triggering of the alerts and the feedback meetings the monitoring was made up of: - four quarterly safety meetings between IM, the delegated IM and the DST; - the distribution of 12 monthly letters giving information on the most significant 'safety' incidents. 1.4 Aspects of vigilance/sensitive points to be monitored Certain subjects must be the subject of increased vigilance on the part of the RUs and the IM: the organisation and carrying out of their own checks, inspections and audits; the organisation and the carrying out of the feed back of experience; for the training centres, the responsibility for teaching at the centre in relation to the company trainers as well as the experience, the training for teaching and the maintenance of knowledge of the trainers. 2. Measures taken as a result of inspections The total of 78 inspections resulted in the notification to the entities inspected of 251 discrepancies made up of: - 13 blocking points; major discrepancies; reservations. These figures are stable overall compared with 2009 in which the EPSF recorded 252 discrepancies but on a smaller number of inspections. A reduction in the number of blocking points was particularly noticeable (33 in 2009) due, in part, to the improvement in the operation of the training centres which form in the past the majority of the entities for which blocking points had been notified. A blocking point or a major discrepancy means that the entity concerned has to apply a corrective action, within a specified timescale. No withdrawal or suspension of safety certificates or authorisation has been announced by the EPSF. Safety report /54

29 H. Summary The overall level of safety on the French railway network has slightly improved in 2010 compared with 2009, as measured by the common safety indicators which correspond to the significant accidents based on the traffic per million train-km. In effect, this indicator had a figure of 0.32 in 2010 compared with 0.34 in In absolute figures the number of significant accidents is the lowest of the last three years (156). Similarly, the number of deaths and serious injuries connected with accidents has reduced significantly. Accidents on level crossings result in almost half the number of people killed and a quarter of the significant accidents. The reduction in the relative number of accidents of this type in 2010 made it possible to reverse the rising trend seen since RFF has employed a policy of improving safety at level crossings which consists firstly of abolishing the most dangerous of them and secondly carrying out a campaign to raise awareness among drivers, in particular of two wheeled vehicles. This positive change in the level of safety in 2010 must not, however, hide a more contrasted situation. Firstly, two indicators monitored by the EPSF have moved favourably in 2010: - fires on rolling stock for which the change in 2009 had been worrying; - absolute stop signals being passed at danger on the main line (-6%). However, the increase of signals being passed at danger on secondary lines must attract the attention of the operators was marked by a series of derailments on the main line at speed which blocked the adjoining line. This type of event is the most feared in railway operation because in unfavourable circumstances the consequences can be particularly serious. The involvement of wagons carrying dangerous goods makes the situation more serious. The derailment at Neufchâteau on 22 May 2010, illustrated this risk well. It was caused by the fracture of a wheel on an axle of a wagon carrying chemical products. It has not proved possible to definitely identify the main cause of the fracture of the axle, but a succession of facts, taken in isolation, would not have systematically generated a dangerous situation. Protective measures and numerous checking campaigns have been necessary in order to limit as far as possible the factors that triggered this type of derailment. Another high speed derailment occurred on the main line during May 2010, between Douai and Lille. This was caused by the fracture of an axlebox journal, which was not detected when it passed over a hot box detector. Just like the accident at Neufchâteau, this derailment fortunately did not cause any casualties, but there was serious material damage. The rise in temperature of the axlebox bearings had been very fast but there was no definite explanation of the sudden failure of the bearing concerned. It is necessary to add two further main line derailments where the adjacent line was fouled: - derailment of 19 wagons in Bully-Grenay Station on 27 July, caused by the locking of the wheelsets of the leading wagon due to a distributor defect. The commercial authorisation for the running of wagons of the same type has been suspended indefinitely by the EPSF; - derailment on 4 August in Saint-Amour Station of a cereal wagon due to the loosening of the tyre of a wheel. The EPSF has issued a recommendation to improve the way this type of incident is dealt with on the main line. This exceptional series of main line derailments all have in common the fact that there was a technical failure on the wagon. Safety report /54

30 These events, as well as the increase in the number of hot boxes in 2010 compared with 2009 (+ 27%), demonstrate the importance of good rolling stock maintenance. The entities in charge of maintenance (ECM) must motivate each link in the chain to work harder to face up to its responsibilities as far as safety is concerned (the railway undertakings, the loaders, the rolling stock holders, the ECMs and the workshops). There is another interesting element to highlight in this conclusion; it follows from the analysis carried out following the main line derailment that occurred on 7 July between Chaulnes and Tergnier, not far from the station of Nesle, close to a level crossing. As in the cases mentioned above, the adjoining track was fouled and there was a lot of damage to the infrastructure. The investigation which was carried out did not enable the cause of the derailment to be determined. After having analysed all the elements that might have contributed to this accident, rolling stock, infrastructure, operation and driving, the conclusions for each of these domains did not enable a specific defect to be identified. Only the combination of elements, including the atmospheric conditions led to this situation. This reminds all the players that the progress to be achieved requires that they work together in a logic 'system' on the relations between the different elements and players has seen the number of railway undertakings carrying traffic continue to increase. Among these it should be noted that the second undertaking to carry passenger traffic on the French railway network after SNCF, that is to say Eurostar International Limited (EIL), obtained its safety certificate in August It is also necessary to note the arrival of the first neighbouring railway operators, holders of a safety certificate issued by the EPSF in order to operate a freight traffic terminal in addition to the main route. This year was also the year of full implementation of the Railway Operation Department, in charge of the traffic and trains carried out at the local level by the 21 établissements infra circulation (EIC) [local operating sites]. The signal boxes, the operating centres that manage the train running and the timetable offices form the framework of these EICs. The railway scene has been changed, especially on the sites where several undertakings move traffic. It was necessary to organise this coexistence of operations by defining the rôle and the responsibilities of each operator. The work is being done by writing consignes locales d exploitation (CLE) [local operating instructions] prepared by the DCF and consignes locales opérationnelles (CLO) [local operational instructions] by each entity moving traffic, but it is still far from being completed. As part of its follow-up, the EPSF has drawn up a list for 2010 of the real increase in the number of operating accidents which are basically linked to shunting operations, forming trains and the recognition of the suitability for transport. As far as this last field is concerned, almost 50% of the defects involve the carriage of dangerous goods or the movement of exceptional consignments. The safety events concerning the operating defects represent an increase of 25% with respect to The feedback of experience on these incidents shows that two factors had an effect on this increase: the inexperience of the younger members of staff in exercising safety functions; the lack of knowledge of the application documents or sometimes the inappropriateness of these application documents. The writing, then the application of documents which are clear and understandable to all thus becomes an imperative, for which it is necessary to draw up a programme with deadlines commencing with the sites that are the most complex. The management of safety within the DCF has evolved to allow better consideration of the human factors in the case of the management of complex situations by the operators when they carry out safety procedures in a disrupted environment. This work on the organisation, the management of safety, the riding with drivers and the supervision of the operators has been initiated following incidents on 17 and 18 August in Lizy-sur-Ourcq Station, during the dispatch of a passenger train without checking the route which resulted in a wrong line movement without an order, and a 'head-on collision'. This analysis must not obscure a recurrent phenomenon which is the cause of numerous accidents, that is to say the complacency which can also be caused by human factors. A safety operation which is repeated many times without a particular incident can generate a culture of infallibility, by under estimating the risks connected with the procedure, particularly in a disrupted situation. It is therefore Safety report /54

31 necessary to fight against unsuitable behaviour due either to the youth of the operator in the function carried out or his long experience which may result in a lack of vigilance. RFF and SNCF have carried out an important project to improve the level of safety on the infrastructure since 2009 which was based on an action plan to do with the maintenance of the network. Nevertheless, not all these actions have yet borne fruit as the high level of incidents connected to the infrastructure shows, some of which could have serious consequences on the safety of trains. The most significant example was the derailment of a passenger train without casualties between Vierzy and Soissons on 24 February following the striking of a non-protected obstacle after the fall of rocks associated with a landslide. The area had been listed since 1988 as a sensitive earth structure as several rock falls had occurred during the last few years. A net to detect rock falls was being installed. The EPSF also noted that several defects of track geometry had been reported. These events, which had increased in 2010, have not been detected previously by the monitoring and inspection actions of SNCF Infrastructure. At the request of the Minister, the EPSF has carried out during the summer of 2010 some inspections on the touristic trains running on the RFN under the conditions laid down in the Decree of 19 October 2006 on the safety of the trains and the interoperability of the railway system. In effect, several accidents occurred in Vendée and in Gironde during this period on the touristic railways. These inspections were based essentially on the arrangements made to ensure the safety of passengers, and in particular the safety of children, as well as on the organisation of the safety put in place by the operators. In its role as inspector the EPSF has increased the number of inspections on the railway system and these have more than doubled compared with They have consisted mainly of checking the application of the safety operational procedures by making random checks of whatever field is observed. They have enabled situations at risk to be detected for which the introduction of protective measures and corrective actions should enable a repeat to be avoided. More generally, in spite of a significant increase in the number of audits and inspections (+ 52% between 2009 and 2010), the total number of anomalies (differences) found remained constant in 2010, which results from the better global control of the safety management system by the operators who hold the certificate or the safety authorisation. The weak points listed above always show areas where this control needs to be improved. Safety report /54

32 I. Conclusion Based on the number of casualties (killed and seriously injured), the level of safety on the RFN has again improved in The proportion of unauthorised people or users of level crossings remains high and they still form the majority of the victims, in spite of the reduction in the number of casualties at level crossings. Nevertheless the number of significant accidents has been marked in the last three years by a significant increase in precursors. If the number of derailments has practically stabilised, several of them, due to failures of materials, sometimes unexplained, were produced in circumstances which could have had much more serious consequences. The safety loops which the railway system has created have happily fully played their rôle, which reminds us of their vital importance, but must not encourage the railway operators to relax the efforts necessary to ensure better control of the elements of the system for which they are responsible. The state of the infrastructure remains, in spite of the efforts made to renew it, an important subject of concern because it is also the origin of some serious accidents, fortunately without serious consequences. Finally, it is necessary to note that the increase in the number of railway operators on the system now leads to frequent situations of co-existence of activity which are not always well managed and contribute to the increase of operating incidents reported. The maintenance, and if possible, the pursuit of the improvement of the level of safety on the RFN during the next few years, therefore, require that these points of vigilance should be particularly taken into account by all the railway operators concerned. Of course, they will continue to be the subject of very intensive monitoring by the EPSF as part of its tasks. Safety report /54

33 Annex A: Information relating to the network and changes in the railway sector A.1: Map of the national rail network (RFN) Safety report /54

34 A.2: List of the railway undertakings and the Infrastructure Manager A.2.1: Infrastructure Manager Name Postal address RFF 92, avenue de France Paris Cedex 13 Web address: Link to the system reference document rff-document-de-reference.eu Safety authorisation (number/date) Date of start of commercial activity 27/02/2008 July 1997 km of electrified line by type km of which km are electrified at V, km at 25 kv and 126 km with a 3rd rail; km of double and single track km of high speed lines km of main lines of which km are double track and km single track km % km of lines using an ATP system 52.3% number of level crossings Safety report /54

35 A.2.2. Railway undertakings Name SNCB ECR COLAS RAIL SNCF VFLI CFL CARGO TSO TRENITALIA TPCF CFR EUROSTAR INTERNATIONA L LTD EUROPORTE CHANNEL EUROPORTE FRANCE OSR France CROSSRAIL BENELUX RENFE Postal address Web address 40 avenue de la porte de Hal (section 13/4) B170 Brussels - Belgium Immeuble le Palacio 25, place de la Gare, Madeleine Paris - France 44, rue Mermoz Maisons Laffitte - France 34, rue du Cdt Mouchotte F Paris 6, rue d Amsterdam Paris - France 11, boulevard Kennedy L-4170 Esch sur Alzette Luxembourg Chemin du Corps de Garde Chelles - France Piazza della Croce Rossa Rome Italy 26 boulevard de l Agly Saint Paul de Fenouillet 33 rue Louis Coudant Cergy la Tour Times House Bravingtons Walk London N1 9AW United Kingdom 15, rue des Sablons Paris - France 15, rue des Sablons Paris - France Domaine Paindavoine 13, rue Berthelot Lille Luchthavenlei 7A B 2100 Deurne Belgium Avda. De Burgos, 8bis Planta 10 Edificio Genesis Madrid Spain Safety certificate A-B 2004/49/EC number A: BE B: FR A: FR B: FR A : FR B: FR A: FR B: FR A: FR B: FR A: LU B: FR A: FR B: FR Date of start of commercial activity Type of traffic 11/12/2006 Freight 13/05/2006 under certificate EWSI 08/01/07 under certificate SECO RAIL Previous to the issue of the certificate Freight Freight All types 04/10/2007 Freight 04/02/2008 Freight 29/07/2009 Freight B: FR /02/2011 Freight A : FR B: FR A: FR B: FR A: UK B: FR A: FR B: FR A: FR B: FR A: FR B: FR A: BE B: FR A: ES B: FR /07/2010 Freight 19/11/2010 Freight 01/09/2010 Passenger 26/11/2007 under certificate Europorte 2 13/06/2005 under certificate CFTA CARGO Freight Freight 13/12/2010 Freight Launch planned during 2011 Freight 21/12/2010 Freight Safety report /54

36 Name Number of locomotives Number of EMUs and DMUs Number of coaches/ wagons Number of train drivers, safety teams Volume of passenger traffic SNCB 22 / / 35 / ECR 140 / / COLAS RAIL 32 / / SNCF 2,473 2,987 16,803 / 45,000 15,115 81,750 million passenger.km Volume of freight traffic 362 million tonne.km 3,462 million tonne.km 485 million tonne.km 25,190 million tonne.km VFLI 79 / / million tonne.km CFL CARGO 25 / 1, / 45 million tonne.km TSO 2 / 35 7 / 20,086 tonne.km TRENITALIA / / / / / / TPCF 3 / / 4 / tonnes.km CFR 2 / / 4 / / EUROSTAR INTERNATIONA L LTD / ,268 passenger.km EUROPORTE CHANNEL 6 / / 15 / EUROPORTE FRANCE 37 / / OSR France 7 / / / / / CROSSRAIL BENELUX / / / / / / RENFE / / / / / / / 14 million tonne.km 738 million tonne.km Safety report /54

37 Annex B: Organisation chart of the French Railway Safety Authority - EPSF B.1 Figure: internal organisation DIRECTOR-GENERAL Communication Officer. GENERAL SECRETARIAT DIRECTORATE FOR REFERENCE SYSTEMS AND EUROPE DIRECTORATE FOR AUTHORISATIONS AND MONITORING Budget & Finance Service Human Resources Service Department of Reference Systems Monitoring Department Authorisations Department Support services Documentation / Archives Procurement / Contracts Legal Affairs Computing National Rail Network Other networks Interface and Technology Safety and Interoperability Service International Europe and Benchmark Service Operations Infrastructure Rolling stock Traction equipment Interface and Technology Specifications Rolling stock approvals Ground equipment approvals Database Signalling Approvals Railway Personnel & Hazards Safety report /54