![]() ![]() However, the proportions of drivers who are obese, or have diabetes or pre-diabetes, have all increased significantly over time. Since the standard was released, studies researching its impact in train driver health over a number of years have shown positive reductions in some coronary heart disease indicators, such as systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and smoking levels. It also considers issues such as diabetes, neurological conditions, sleep disorders, and body mass index, with implications for fitness-for-duty regulations. The standard has been designed to monitor and screen the health status of rail safety critical workers by looking at medical criteria such as their age, gender, blood pressure, and whether or not they smoke cigarettes. A year later, in 2004, a National Standard for Health Assessment of Rail Safety Workers was born. The investigation found a number of systemic issues associated with the vigilance systems, deadman’s pedal, and the presiding safety culture at the time, but it was difficult to see beyond the contribution of one undeniable fact: the train driver had suffered a heart attack and lost control of the train. A Tangara interurban train service derailed after travelling nearly twice the speed limit, killing 7 people and injuring many others. On 31st January 2003, something happened near Waterfall, New South Wales that would change the way the Australian rail industry viewed and managed the health of their train drivers. As always, interest in this area has been sparked and accelerated by reactions to events that strike the imagination. One of these changes is in the area of train driver health and wellbeing, through this concept is not always as clear-cut as perhaps it could be. While these aspects of the task have not changed all that much, the world around them has, introducing new railway safety laws and regulations. We are referring of course to the subtleties of rail collision avoidance that make the task so unique – the use of in-depth route knowledge, forward planning, intuitive throttle control, and seat-of-the-pants logic. We might have new technology, automatic safety systems, and faster trains, but the driver still essentially performs the way they did in 1830, back when George Stephenson built the first railway line connecting Liverpool and Manchester. Many aspects of the train-driving task are frozen in time. Written by Anjum Naweed, Principal Research Fellow at ACRI ( pictured), and Janine Chapman. ![]() Originally published in Railway Digest July 2015. ![]()
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