A proposed new approach to light rail safety management in Spain and other countries. (October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Novales, Margarita; Bertrand, Dominique; Fontaine, Laetitia
• Is Part Of: Safety science. Volume 118(2019)
• Page Start: 740
• Page End: 751
• Publication Date: 2019-10
• Subjects: Light rail safety -- Accident report -- Safety management; Industrial accidents -- Periodicals; Accident Prevention -- Periodicals; Safety -- Periodicals; Travail -- Accidents -- Périodiques; 363.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2019.06.010
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0925-7535

Abstract

Highlights: Critical review of regulatory framework for LRT safety management in Spain. Comparison of LRT safety management in different European countries. The French LRT safety management approach is presented with a critical review. Approach to improve LRT safety in any country, following the French model. National LRT safety management database. Abstract: The light rail transit (LRT) has experienced considerable growth in Spain since 1994; to date, this has led to the installation of more than 200 km of light rail lines and LRT operations in 11 metropolitan areas. Nevertheless, its institutional and regulatory framework have not been developed accordingly. Thus, in this paper, an approach for managing the LRT safety in Spain is proposed. The approach is based on the French model and could be applied to any other country that is interested in improving its LRT safety management. The paper explains the current situation of LRT safety management in Spain and provides a critical review. A comparison of the situations in several European countries is presented. Moreover, the paper presents details pertaining to the French framework and tool as the most adequate model for managing the LRT safety; a critical review is also included in order to propose ways for improving it. Finally, the main points of the proposed LRT safety management approach include the following: (1) development of a National Light Rail Safety Act, which would create the National Light Rail Safety Body; (2) implementation of a light rail safety database, which is created through the codification of light rail lines in homogenised sections from the safety point of view and the standardised light rail accident/incident reports, to be filled in by light rail operators directly; (3) management of the database by the National Light Rail Safety Body in order to improve safety based on the conclusions obtained.