Railway safety and tunnel

accidents in Europe

- some facts and the need for preventive measures

by Sverre Red-Larsen
Project Manager
Work Research Institute (WRI) - Norway
24 May 2006
CORPTUS Repair 2006, BRNO

Some main points

Railway transport is in general very safe

Few fatal accidents or major injuries per
year in Europe
The passengers risk perception are a
subjective reality but still a reality!
Railway tunnel safety: many challenges
and many preventive measures

Rail safety and

accidents in Europe
15 railways of the European Union+Switzerland and Norway
nu mber of deat hs per b illion k ilome tres

UIC OCCUPATIONAL
SAFETY
GROUP
UIC OCC UP ATIONAL S AFETY
GROUP

Transport safety in
Europe

Accident in Rail Tunnel

In general, tunnels are even safer than open
tracks, BUT:
26 severe rail and metro tunnel accidents
identified in period 1942-2002 (world wide)
- 0.5 accident per year
1400 fatalities
- 25 fatalities per year
- 50 fatalities per accident
80-90 % of the casualties found onboard
train or wreckage
Source: Det Norske Veritas

Cable Car Accident

Kitzsteinhorn in
Austria
November 11,
2000

Accident in Metro
Tunnel
Metro tunnel - King's
Cross in London
Nov. 1987

Main types
of rail tunnels
Railway tunnels
Cable Car tunnels
Metro tunnels
Underground Installations

Tunnel Risks
Typical hazards:

Fire

Smoke

Ventilation

Structural collapse

Collision

Derailment

People at risk in tunnels

Passengers
On-board personnel
Construction workers
Maintenance workers
Rescue personnel
Audit experts
Others

Examples: Some
accidents in rail tunnels
(Europe - Passenger trains)

Kitzsteinhorn, Austria 2000 (155 fatalities)

Salerno, Italy 1999 (4 fatalities)
Eurotunnel, UK/France 1996
Hirschengraben tunnel, Switzerland 1991
Gare de Lyon, France 1988 (59 fatalities)
Kings Cross, London/UK 1987 (31 fatalities)
Hamburg U-bahn, Germany 1980
Vranduk tunnel, Yugoslavia 1971 (34 fatalities)
Simplon tunnel, France 1969
London Shepards Bush, UK 1958 (1 fatality)
Armi tunnel, Italy 1944 (426 fatalities)
Batignolles tunnnel, France 1921 (>28 fatalities)

Source: Det Norske Veritas

Rail Transport

the safest transport mode

important feedback on experience regarding
operation
tunnel protects from outside incidents
safety in tunnel covered by the operating rules of
the global network
recent disasters show that the fire risk must be
re-evaluated
national regulations are more disparate than the
road

Source: Bruno Brousse,

Brousse, Centre dEtudes des Tunnels

Metro Transport

a very safe transport mode

long operating experience entirely underground
safety arrangements especially adapted to the
underground environment
stations play a large part for safety
severe problem however very rare is an accident
between two stations
fire safety rules depend largely from each city or
network

Source: Bruno Brousse,

Brousse, Centre dEtudes des Tunnels

Examples of Preventive
Measures - EU

EU Regulation: A set of minimum safety

standards (short-medium term)
- Organisational requirements
- Technical requirements
EU approach: to shift traffic from road to
alternative modes of transport (medium
long term)

European Tunnel Safety

Policy
Work at the European Union level:
White Paper: European Transport Policy
for 2010 Time to decide (COM(2001)370)
Railway safety in tunnels part of the
railway interoperability directives
The new European Railway Agency (ERA)
a lot of safety initiatives

European Tunnel Projects

Examples:
DARTS Project on durable and reliable
tunnel structures
SIRTAKI the development of decisionsupport expert system for crisis
management in tunnels
FIT/SAFE-T thematic network in fires in
tunnels
UPTUN upgrading methods for fire
safety in existing tunnels
CORPTUS

Other international
contacts
Examples:

International conferences in Road and Rail

tunnels (several conferences)
International symposiums on Safe and
Reliable tunnels (2003 2006, 2009)
Several national conferences and
international seminars and workshops
Considerable commercial commitments

Conclusions

Several of the most severe rail accidents have

occurred in tunnels with small cross sectional
area
Safety in tunnels are different for the 3 modes
of transport (road/metro/rail)
Major challenges in maintenance and
modernizing existing tunnels and in building
new ones
Security as a new risk factor
European harmonisation needed
Many ongoing projects, especially on fire,
and new regulatory work on EU level

Partly based on Bruno Brousse,

Brousse, Centre d*
d*Etudes des Tunnels

THANK YOU!