ONRSR undertakes research to better understand risks, inform regulatory priorities and strengthen safety outcomes across Australia's rail industry.
GHD and EV Firesafe were engaged to conduct a review of international approaches to the safety risks of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) in e-mobility devices being carried on trains. The review report explains the characteristics and hazards of thermal runaway events from LiBs and highlights learnings from incidents that have occurred on overseas rail networks in recent years.
The report identifies the different controls that international operators and regulators have put in place to respond to these risks and provides commentary on the relative cost and effectiveness of different measures. Globally, a wide range of approaches have been adopted with the majority being led by operators rather than being driven by regulators.
Track worker safety has been a long-standing focus for the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator with the safety of workers, on or near tracks, one of the critical risk areas identified through regulatory activity.
Track work often occurs in live rail environments, under time pressure, with multiple parties involved and limited margin for error. Failures in planning, communication or protection can result in serious injury or fatality.
ONRSR partnered with the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board (now ARISO) and the Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation (now part of the National Transport Research Organisation) to commission national research into track worker protection. The subsequent report was the culmination of extensive research to identify applicable technologies, and comprehensive engagement with stakeholders, to first characterise the technology and ultimately examine a path to adoption that is both effective and commercially viable.
Read the full report.
ONRSR developed an Australian-first Code of Practice which was approved by Infrastructure and Transport Ministers and is designed to improve safety at thousands of level crossings around the country.
The code is 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 and provides the Australian rail industry with best practice guidance to support operators to strengthen the controls in place to address the safety risks posed by level crossings.
The code was informed by the findings of three research projects undertaken by the Monash Institute of Railway Technology and the Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation.