This chapter reviews the safety of railway operation in Europe particularly by examining the causes of fatalities over periods of up to three decades ending in 2017. Fatalities are examined to passengers, staff, level crossing users, and trespassers, together with a brief look at suicides. The...

Digital technologies provide an opportunity for the rail sector to achieve social, economic and environmental sustainability, if implemented correctly. Unlocking the full potential of technology, however, will require significant changes beyond the technological. Physical assets will need to...

This chapter provides basic knowledge on the principles used in modern signalling systems to ensure safe train separation and to establish safe routes through point zones. For train control, lineside signals are compared with cab signalling. For block protection, fixed block and moving block...

Of the three ‘pillars of sustainability’, railways’ initial focus was on the economic pillar, having been developed in the nineteenth century to enable economic development and having struggled in the mid-twentieth century to maintain their economic sustainability in the face of...

The role of railways within urban areas is analysed, covering ‘metro’ systems (self-contained heavy rail networks, often with substantial underground sections), light rail (both upgraded street tramways and newer systems), and travel by regional and national railways within urban areas....

This chapter provides a taxonomy of key rolling stock types and covers the key engineering principles. This chapter concentrates on the aspects of the rolling stock that make it sustainable in terms of passenger transportation; these aspects are primarily safety and crashworthiness. These are...

The vehicle–track interaction and the resulting dynamic response of the vehicle involve a number of complex nonlinear problems. Large vertical loads act through a small contact patch leading to very high contact pressures. Transverse loads acting through this contact induce a relative velocity...

Community rail is a grassroots movement that spans Britain, made up of hundreds of community groups and partnerships that engage people with their railways and stations and provide a bridge between the rail industry and the public at a local level. The movement has grown up from the grassroots,...