Rail Human Factors. Proceedings of the 2nd German Workshop on Rail Human Factors.

Human factors in railways is a topic that becomes more and more important. So far, changes to the railway system were driven by technical developments with the human acting as back up. However, little thought was given if and how humans can best fulfill their new role. Unfortunately, accidents and incidents show us again and again that despite having highly automated and reliable systems not taken care of the humans in the process can lead to unsafe situations. Preventing errors and a user friendly design of processes, workflows, and systems are essential factors for safe and efficient rail traffic. Aim of the 2nd German Workshop on Rail Human Factors is to raise awareness to the importance of Rail Human Factors and to trigger research in this area. The main topics are: • user centred design of systems and interfaces in the rail sector, especially for workplaces in control centres and in the train driver’s cabin, • level crossing, • safety and human reliability, • training, competencies and future tasks for personnel in the rail system, • human information processing and its influence on user behaviour and performance (e.g., also fatigue and monotony)