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Update 15 August 2024
ONRSR has completed its assessment of the evidence in support of the operational safety case for Sydney Metro City Section and granted the necessary approvals.
A commencement date for passenger services is a matter for the NSW Government via its relevant agencies.
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Update 9 August 2024
ONRSR has now received the evidence to support the operational safety case and is continuing its assessment.
ONRSR is working as quickly as possible, and the assessment is now well advanced with finalisation subject to the standard verifications/clarifications that are typical in a process like this one.
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July 2024
As the Minister indicated, the ONRSR team is focused on assessing the evidence, as it arrives, to support the operational safety case for the new Metro City line.
The assessment verifies that all risks to safety have been identified and that the appropriate systems and processes are in place to manage them.
Once this due diligence has been completed, the application for accreditation for the new line can be finalised and granted.
A target date for the commencement of passenger services was neither ONRSR’s to set nor comment on.
Throughout the process, ONRSR has consistently advised that it will assess the application as quickly as possible (once all the evidence supporting the safety case is received) and that it requires sufficient time to undertake that assessment.
In July ONRSR submitted, for consideration and approval, a draft Code of Practice – Level Crossings and Train Visibility to Australia’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministers (State and Federal) via the Infrastructure and Transport Senior Officials Committee.
ONRSR anticipates the outcome of its submission to be provided in the next 6-8 weeks.
The code was developed in response to comprehensive research commissioned by ONRSR and undertaken by the Monash Institute of Railway Technology, into the impact of additional lighting on rolling stock.
It is important to note that a code of practice is admissible in a proceeding as evidence of whether or not a rail operator has complied with Rail Safety National Law. Furthermore, if approved by Australia’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministers, the code of practice would have legal standing.
Subject to Ministerial approval, the code will be an approved code under the Rail Safety National Law. That means while it isn't mandatory, if an operator chooses not to adopt the approved code they will need to demonstrate what they are doing as an alternative that is 'as good or better'.
The code will be used by the courts to understand what good practice looks like in complying with general safety duties and, it will be used by ONRSR to test what operators are doing that is as good or better than what the code would provide.
The code has significant legal standing with the courts and with the Regulator as to what constitutes safety so far as is reasonably practicable – the obligation required under the law.
The code is also the result of engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including those with lived experience of rail collisions, industry representatives, unions, governments, and subject matter experts. ONRSR does not, however, contend that the interests and, in some cases demands, of all parties engaged through the process have been met. Instead, it has focused on doing its very best to manage those competing priorities in order to develop a code that best assists rail transport operators to strengthen the safety management systems that underpin operations where trains interact with people, drivers and vehicles.
Already, the rail industry has shown strong support for the code, particularly amongst larger operators.
Furthermore, the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (RISSB) will be using the outcomes of the research to conduct its second review of Australian Standard 7531 (rolling stock lighting and visibility) later this year. It is also important to note that the code states that the standard (AS7531) is a minimum compliance standard and that operators may need to do more to meet their general safety duties.
Additional Background
ONRSR is committed to improving safety at level crossings.
The research commissioned by ONRSR demonstrates that train visibility and the illumination of trains are among many controls that can be used to address safety risk in rail operations.
ONRSR understands that better train illumination is part of the solution. The research conducted by the Monash Institute of Railway Technology tells us that, but while it found the addition of beacon lighting and the conversion of train lighting from halogen to LED was effective to a point, it is only under specific atmospheric conditions and operational circumstances that these solutions address some risks at level crossings.
From a statistical point of view, nationwide, there were 38 level crossing collisions in 2022-2023 between trains and either trucks, cars, cyclists or pedestrians, down from 41 in the 2021-2022 financial year.
It’s also important to remember that most level crossing incidents occur during the day, with 75% of near hits at level crossing occurring in daylight hours. The challenge then is to find other control measures that assist to manage the risk in daytime.
In March of this year, the National Level Crossing Safety Roundtable in Brisbane was attended by more than 60 different stakeholders representing the road and rail industries, regulators, academics and researchers. It came in the wake of an incident on New Year’s Eve 2023, where two train drivers were killed when their freight train collided with a truck at a level crossing near Broken Hill which was fitted with flashing lights. The incident prompted Pacific National Chief Executive, Paul Scurrah, to call for a national summit on the issue of level crossing safety.
At the conclusion of the National Level Crossing Safety Roundtable, ten actions were identified as integral to delivering short-, medium- and long-term level crossing safety benefits in addition to actions under the National Level Crossing Strategy. They were assigned to multiple agencies and cover topics such as driver education, camera technology, the code of practice for train visibility, better use of telematics and data, a review of the road and rail manager agreements and a renewed investigation into penalties for drivers who disobey road rules at level crossings.
July 2024
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual fee payable to ONRSR will be increasing for some rail transport operators – this fee is to cover the cost of regulating rail safety around Australia. Annual fees have been held flat in recent years to aid the Australian rail industry’s ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and throughout this period, ONRSR passed on cost savings (due to reduced travel and operating costs) to industry worth in excess of $5 million.
Application of the 2022-23 fees for the 2023-24 financial year resulted in a $2.7 million loss for ONRSR and quite simply, a further freeze on fees would severely restrict ONRSR’s ability to regulate the safety of the Australian rail network. The reality is that while annual fees have remained constant, there has been an increase in train and track kilometres around Australia with expanded operations and new major rail projects coming online – changing the regulatory profile.
In looking to 24-25, significant effort has gone into keeping fees as low as possible while ensuring the ongoing effectiveness of ONRSR via:
In real terms, the 2024-25 annual fees will see 63% of all operators’ fees either fixed or slightly reduced.
For the remaining 37% of operators the increased rail footprint, combined with CPI and a reduction in Government contributions, will result in an average fee increase of around 20%. Where fee increases are highest, this generally reflects a significant expansion of operations.
ONRSR understands fee increases create financial pressures, but like all sectors, ONRSR’s fees must reflect the cost of doing business – which in its case is keeping Australians safe on railways.
6 December 2024
The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) has released an Australian-first Code of Practice designed to improve safety at thousands of level crossings around the country.
The ONRSR Code of Practice – Train Visibility at Level Crossings has been published today following its endorsement by Australia’s State and Federal Infrastructure and Transport Ministers.
ONRSR Chief Executive and Australia’s National Rail Safety Regulator, Dr. Natalie Pelham said the new code would significantly strengthen the safety management systems rail operators use to safeguard interactions with pedestrians, cyclists and motorists – including heavy vehicle drivers.
“The Code of Practice sets out train visibility best practice to industry and provides operators with guidance on how to tailor assessment and treatment of their specific safety risks,” Dr. Pelham said.
“As we have consistently maintained throughout its development, the code is not a silver bullet solution – unfortunately where level crossing safety is concerned no such solution exists. But what we do have here is a well-considered and responsibly developed safety tool.”
“Crucially, it is backed by a significant body of independent research and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders including those with lived experience of rail collisions, industry representatives, unions, governments and subject matter experts.”
“Several national operators, including Aurizon and Pacific National, have already committed to adopting the code.”
Ministerial approval means the Code of Practice –Train Visibility at Level Crossings has legal standing, and a court may use the code as evidence to determine whether a rail transport operator, so far as is reasonably practicable, addressed a safety risk and complied with Rail Safety National Law.
ONRSR will complement release of the code with national in-field compliance and education activities.
In addition to the consultation process, ONRSR considered a range of data and information in developing the code, including historical records of tens of thousands of rail safety occurrences reported to the national regulator along with two major pieces of academic research.
Conducted by the Monash Institute of Railway Technology, an initial independent research project looked at how specific controls such as flashing beacons on locomotives and the conversion of train headlights from halogen to LED impacted train visibility for road users.
This was followed by a second round of research that looked at the effect of additional front and side locomotive lighting.
The researchers made important recommendations from both programs that have now been incorporated into the broader set of controls that the code asks operators to consider when assessing the risks posed by their specific rail operations at level crossings.
“This code represents the latest tool ONRSR can provide to support collective efforts to improve safety at thousands of level crossings around Australia,” Dr. Pelham said.
“Ultimately, safety at level crossings relies on significant coordination and action to manage the risks. Members of the public, rail transport operators, road transport industries, governments, emergency services and regulators all have a vital role to play.”
Further background information and copies of the ONRSR Code of Practice – Train Visibility at Level Crossings can be downloaded from the ONRSR website by following the link provided here: Code of Practice | ONRSR.
4 September 2024
The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) has today released a second independent assessment of the effects of additional lighting on freight locomotives.
Conducted by the Monash Institute of Railway Technology (Monash IRT), the study specifically examined the impact of additional flashing LED beacon lights mounted on the front and side of locomotives. It is the second such assessment of additional train lighting commissioned by ONRSR in as many years.
ONRSR Chief Executive and National Rail Safety Regulator, Dr. Natalie Pelham said the insights delivered by the latest Monash IRT investigation had been fundamental to the national regulator’s ongoing efforts to improve safety at thousands of level crossings around Australia.
“What the research tells us is that while in isolation additional train lighting is not a silver bullet solution, it is one of a range of controls that can be used to improve safety at level crossings under certain conditions,” Dr. Pelham said.
“It confirms that any comprehensive approach must consider not only lighting but other visibility issues such as vegetation clearance, improved signage, and further revisions of the relevant national standard.”
The research helped inform the draft Train Visibility at Level Crossings Code of Practice that ONRSR recently submitted to State and Federal Transport Ministers.
The code is designed to assist rail transport operators to strengthen the overall safety management systems that underpin operations where trains interact with people, drivers and vehicles – with an emphasis on risk controls to improve train visibility.
“Once approved we’ll have in place a well-considered and responsibly developed safety resource that is backed by a significant body of independent research,” Dr. Pelham said.
The Monash IRT report, released today, is the culmination of months of research informed by the collection of over 500 luminance measurements in various scenarios including vegetation obscurity, simulated weather conditions and different daylight and night-time conditions.
While the report confirms that additional lighting does provide some enhancements at night, it found that efforts to improve level crossing safety holistically must consider it in the context of a range of factors and controls.
With 74% of collisions and 81% of near hits at level crossings occurring during the day, the report lists among its conclusions, that “…the rail industry should focus on alternative ways to increase the visibility of locomotives during the day.”
“We commissioned this research to ensure that train lighting continued to be carefully considered as part of ongoing efforts to improve level crossing safety in Australia,” Dr. Pelham said.
“By using this information to inform the development of a code of practice that will have legal standing, and through the commitment made by the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board to review
AS 7531 – Rolling Stock Lighting and Visibility, we’re doing exactly that.”
“However, the fact remains that reducing safety risks at level crossings is not a simple problem with a simple solution, but rather is a collective responsibility applying a multifaceted approach.”
“Rail transport operators, road and infrastructure managers, members of the public, governments, emergency services and regulators all have a vital role to play.”
ONRSR is supporting a range of projects and initiatives aimed at improving level crossing safety across the country, including in New South Wales where trials of new camera technology at crossings are underway.
Elsewhere, in March of this year, ONRSR was a key participant at the National Level Crossing Safety Roundtable in Brisbane - attended by more than 60 different stakeholders representing the road and rail industries, regulators, unions, academics and researchers.
It came in the wake of an incident on New Year’s Eve 2023, where two train drivers were killed when their freight train collided with a truck at a level crossing which was fitted with flashing lights.
At the conclusion of the Roundtable, ten actions were identified as integral to delivering short-, medium- and long-term level crossing safety benefits in addition to actions under the National Level Crossing Strategy.
They were assigned to multiple agencies, including ONRSR, and cover topics such as driver education, camera technology, train visibility, better use of telematics and data, a review of the road and rail manager agreements and a renewed investigation into penalties for drivers who disobey road rules at level crossings.
The Monash IRT Report: Quantitative Assessment of Visibility of Modified Locomotive Lighting can be downloaded via the link provided here.
24 June 2024
ONRSR has welcomed the release of the National Transport Commision's final report on its targeted review of the Rail Safety National Law.
The review came some 11 years after RSNL was first introduced and ONRSR opened its doors as Australia’s first national rail safety regulator. With a focus on how the law could best position ONRSR to deliver on its regulatory functions efficiently, and how it could support the National Rail Action Plan, the final report concluded that:
“The Rail Safety National Law is generally working well and is considered to be a vast improvement from previous regimes, even though numerous improvement opportunities have been identified.”
The report goes on to list some 25 recommendations including:
ONRSR will now consider the full report on legislative reform and will work with the NTC and other stakeholders to establish a detailed implementation plan based on the high-level implementation plan the NTC included in the material it has released.
The NTC's final report can be viewed here: Review of the Rail Safety National Law | National Transport Commission (ntc.gov.au)
5 April 2024
The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) has welcomed the Western Australian Parliament’s decision to approve the full application of Rail Safety National Law (RSNL).
While Western Australia formally adopted the national legislation in 2015, until now it was implemented using what is known as “Mirror Legislation” – effectively locking down a 2015 localised version of the national act.
ONRSR Chief Executive and National Rail Safety Regulator, Dr. Natalie Pelham said the decision to bring WA into line with all other states and territories would remove any inconsistencies and ensure that rail operators in the west benefited from a range of amendments made to the RSNL since 2015.
The new law will not come into effect until the second half of 2024, and ONRSR will use the time to conduct a comprehensive engagement program with all WA based rail transport operators and rail safety workers and their representatives.
“This is about making sure that railways in Western Australia are as safe as they can be and that ONRSR is as efficient and effective as possible in regulating safety across Australia,” Dr. Pelham said.
“For the most part, and certainly for the time being, it will be business as usual, but this decision does give clarity and certainty, with operators and rail safety workers having the same requirements in WA as everywhere else in the country, ultimately reducing the complexity of regulation and costs.
A series of information sessions, to be conducted by rail safety officers and senior staff from ONRSR’s Perth office, will be held to ensure operators and rail safety workers understand the application of the national law in Western Australia.
“We will work closely with all our stakeholders in Western Australia over the coming months to explain exactly how this change will be managed and what it means for them,” Dr. Pelham said.
3 April 2024
The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and NSW Trains have been found guilty of breaches of Rail Safety National Law in relation to the derailment of a passenger train that killed two rail safety workers at Wallan, Victoria in February 2020.
ARTC and NSW Trains were fined $375,000 and $150,000 respectively in the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, 3 April.
On 20 February 2020, the NSW Trains operated XPT train carrying 155 passengers and two crew derailed when it entered the ARTC managed Wallan Loop. The driver and an accompanying qualified worker were killed, while another eight passengers sustained serious injuries.
In bringing the charges, ONRSR alleged ARTC failed to implement key safety measures before the fatal derailment, including ensuring NSW Trains and its drivers were aware of a divergence at Wallan, and not installing warning measures on the approach to the track change.
It also alleged NSW Trains failed to reduce or eliminate the risk of the train derailing by not ensuring the driver or safety staff were aware of critical information such as changes to the rail network configuration prior to the journey.
National Rail Safety Regulator and ONRSR Chief Executive, Dr. Natalie Pelham said the action to prosecute the operators was not taken lightly.
“Today our thoughts are with the families and friends of the two rail safety workers that did not go home that night,” Dr. Pelham said.
“In addition to those who lost their lives, 61 passengers and crew were injured with eight requiring hospitalisation for serious injuries. Many of them experience trauma to this day.”
“This matter was pursued to reinforce obligations under the RSNL to provide for safe railway operations and in the public interest to promote confidence in rail.”
“It is a requirement that rail transport operators have the competency and capacity to manage the risks to safety posed by their operations.”
Since the accident ONRSR has conducted a range of regulatory activities to assess and improve operators’ performance in relation to safety critical communications, the management of unplanned operational changes and how they interact with track managers.
“ONRSR will do everything in its power to ensure the lessons of this tragic event are learned and adopted by industry to prevent any recurrence of an incident like this,” Dr. Pelham said.
“We will continue to work with the industry to secure the changes needed to improve safety.”