RESTRAIL Toolbox – An Innovative Solution for Safe, Secure and Resilient Railway Operation

AbstractThis practical contribution presents the main outcome of a successful research project coordinated by the International Union of Railways (UIC). RESTRAIL (REduction of Suicides and Trespasses on RAILway property; 2011-2014) was a three-year EU FP7 collaborative project which aimed to reduce railway suicides and trespassing fatalities as well as the costly service disruption caused by these events. The project provided the rail industry and researchers worldwide with an analysis and identification of the most cost-effective prevention and mitigation measures and the results are organised into a practical toolbox. The RESTRAIL toolbox is a free online tool with both practical and scientific aims. On the one hand it is a guide of best practice designed to lead railway undertakings and infrastructure managers through the process of selecting from the range of preventative and mitigation measures (through a systematic approach for analysing a problematic situation). It equally provides a wide list of cost-effective measures, implementation tips, examples, empirical evidence for effectiveness and other useful details which are important during the implementation phase. On the other hand, it is based on empirical evidence collected from the scientific literature and from the railway industry, as well as on data produced during 11 pilot tests which were implemented during the project. The RESTRAIL toolbox is a good example of exploitable results from EU-funded projects: the tool was developed during the project, it is currently easy to consult and available free of charge at www.restrail.eu/toolbox, and will continue to be maintained, updated and improved by the International Union of Railways (UIC) for the benefit of the entire railway community and society