Media centre

Wednesday 6 Oct 2004

TPWS PLUS GETS OFF THE GROUND

Region & Route:

National

Monday 4 October saw Network Rail start a £16m project to significantly improve safety on Britain’s railway with the installation of an enhanced Train Protection Warning System (TPWS+). TPWS + will provide additional safety benefits and will extend the protection delivered by standard TPWS to trains travelling at speeds between 75mph and 100mph. The system will be achieved by fitting new equipment to 440 existing TPWS sites across the country and will take advantage of planned engineering work to minimise disruption caused to passengers. It will be completed by the summer of 2005. This state of the art enhanced system follows the successful completion in 2003 of TPWS across the entire rail network on time and to budget, which represents the single biggest, and most effective safety improvement on the UK’s railway for decades, reducing the risk from signals passed at danger by some 52% TPWS automatically applies the brakes of any train that has passed a red signal, or that is travelling too fast on the approach to a red signal, speed restriction or buffer stop. It is designed to reduce the consequences of a signal passed at danger (SPAD) by stopping a train that passes through a red signal (within the signal’s safety overlap and before it can come into conflict with any other train). -more- TPWS+ – 2 John Armitt, Chief Executive, Network Rail said, “TPWS has already delivered real safety benefits to Britain’s railway.  This innovative new scheme will build on the successes of standard TPWS and will help to deliver a safer railway.” Only ten years ago SPADs were averaging over 900 per annum. In recent years the industry has made SPAD reduction a safety priority. TPWS, whilst potentially not reducing the overall number of SPADs, will and has already reduced the most serious type.