The concern related to a number of incidents which the reporter is concerned that have not been recorded accurately in the supervisor’s daily performance summaries.
The reporter expressed a safety concern in relation to a number of reports which were not recorded correctly in incident reports or the daily performance summaries.
The reporter advised that they have been informed of a number of events including drivers not being warned of workers being on the track and trains striking objects which were either not reported or essential information was omitted in the last month at [operator]. The reporter advised that after the incidents they are not aware if following trains were warned of the incidents.
The incidents included drivers and train controllers not being made aware of workers replacing advertising signs at [name] station on the train corridor and a train striking a tree but the incident was recorded as a line which was obstructed by a tree.
I refer to your REPCON report of regarding allegations that [operator] was not correctly recording incidents.
Drivers and Train Controllers were not aware of workers replacing advertising signs at [station] on the rail corridor.
First of all depending on the location of the signs network control including train control may not need to be contacted. The signs may have been in a location where a work on track authority was not needed.
Secondly if a work on track authority was in place our Network Rules and Procedures do not generally require train drivers to be informed.
The work on track rules are designed to keep people and trains separate and the required interactions are between the protection officer at the site and the signaller responsible for that portion of the rail corridor. Interactions with the train controller are conducted by the signaller.
We have reviewed our information systems and cannot find any reference to an issue at this station on the date specified. CCTV was unavailable due to the length of time between the alleged incident and the REPCON report.
During October a train struck a tree but this was recorded in the system as the line being obstructed by a tree.
The absence of a specific date prevents us from providing a specific response. Our incident records for October show 22 events whereby a tree or part of a tree where either struck by a train or obstructed a line.
Such events are not uncommon, particularly following periods of high winds.
We are very interested in having incidents properly reported and recorded. If the reporter is seeking to imply that there deliberate minimisation of incidents then this is simply not the case. If an incident is misreported or recorded this can be raised either with the employee's manager or with a safety professional working within their business unit.
The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) has reviewed the report, and we are satisfied with the response supplied by the operator.
We note the concerns raised by the reporter and the ONRSR will consider the content of the report for further planning of compliance activities within upcoming audits and inspections.