Announcement: The TRAINSAFE Thematic Network

Posted: Monday 24 July 2006

The aim of the TRAINSAFE thematic network is to promote and enhance the safety of the rail system. This will be achieved by bringing together rail operators, suppliers to the rail industry, and academia in order to:

* Encourage information exchange on safety-related issues such as technological innovation, and standards, specifications and codes of practice.
* Identify, prioritise and initiate future research activities.

Networking initiatives such as TRAINSAFE are necessary because the European railway system is undergoing some major changes:

* The separation of infrastructure management activities from those of train operation.
* The opening-up of the rail network to new entrants.

As such, there is a real danger of critical knowledge being dispersed and lost through the fragmentation of the industry. This will put increased pressure on a rail network already faced with new challenges in terms of interoperability, intermodality and the harmonisation of standards.

Furthermore, the European Rail Research Advisory Council's (ERRAC's) "Strategic Rail Research Agenda" presents some challenging targets for passenger and freight capacity increases by 2020 (doubling of market share, tripling of market volume) whilst simultaneously delivering safety improvements. TRAINSAFE provides a mechanism for addressing these issues by providing a platform for comnunication, co-ordination and discussion at a European level in order to raise the overall levels of safety within the railways.

TRAINSAFE's Approach

Within the scope of TRAINSAFE, four key areas have been identified. These are:

* Standards for safety.
* Safe infrastructure.
* Safe vehicle structures and interiors.
* The fire safety of rail vehicle structures.

For each of these areas, the state of the art will be determined and future research needs will be identified and prioritised. This will be achieved through a process of consultation and consensus between leading experts within the rail industry and academia. Centres of competence that could act as focal points to address these future research needs will also be identified.

Furthermore, where appropriate, modifications or extensions to the existing framework of standards and specifications will be proposed. In this way, research "clusters" will be developed for each of the key areas, thus providing a roadmap for future research direction.