Barry Izbak
U.T.A.
Sorry to start another SASTA thread, but I think you might be interested in the latest reply I have just received from the Office of Rail and Road in my series of correspondence i have been having with them since the debacle at the last Friday night game. It seems that Southern Railways have a plan. Who knew?
Thank you for your e-mail of 7 December 2016 to my colleagues Stacy Webb (via Nigel Nevis), and further to my colleague Nigel Nevis earlier letter to you, about your concerns with travelling on Southern Railways between Brighton and Lewes this Friday, I assume for Brighton and Hove’s Football Club’s home game against Leeds United.
Under health and safety law, Southern have explicit legal duties to manger the risk to passengers ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’. As part of that duty, as the health and safety railway regulator, we would expect Southern to have robust contingency plans in place to manage the risks to passengers and others affected by service disruption and specific events, such as Brighton and Hove Football Club’s home games at the American Express Community Stadium.
It may help reassure you if I set out an overview of Southern’s contingency plans in more detail to illustrate what they are doing to better manage the crowding between Brighton, Falmer and Lewes stations on match days:
· the use of risk assessment within their station event plans. This includes a supplementary plan for managing risk at Lewes station;
· an enhanced command and control arrangements to better manage passenger crowding;
· a strengthened capacity to provide rolling stock, including ensuring additional ‘football special’ services are provided on match days, and the prioritising of services to stations affected by match days;
· prioritising the staff rostering of match day-related services, including training driver assessors to covers any gaps in staff rosters;
· a check made 48-hours before events on whether or not full services can be provided and, if not, the use of communication plans through Southern, the British Transport Police (BTP), Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club and their security contractors and Sussex Police to inform passengers over changes to services;
· enhanced arrangements between Southern, and Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club and the Away Club to provide additional coaches as necessary; and
· plans for a ‘table top’ exercise between Southern and the BTP to test the coordination of these contingency plans early in 2017.
Nonetheless, we will continue to actively monitor Southern’s arrangements for safely managing passenger crowding during future football fixtures.
Thank, Lee Collins
Office of Rail and Road
Lee Collins
Strategy, Planning and System Safety
Railway Safety Directorate
Thank you for your e-mail of 7 December 2016 to my colleagues Stacy Webb (via Nigel Nevis), and further to my colleague Nigel Nevis earlier letter to you, about your concerns with travelling on Southern Railways between Brighton and Lewes this Friday, I assume for Brighton and Hove’s Football Club’s home game against Leeds United.
Under health and safety law, Southern have explicit legal duties to manger the risk to passengers ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’. As part of that duty, as the health and safety railway regulator, we would expect Southern to have robust contingency plans in place to manage the risks to passengers and others affected by service disruption and specific events, such as Brighton and Hove Football Club’s home games at the American Express Community Stadium.
It may help reassure you if I set out an overview of Southern’s contingency plans in more detail to illustrate what they are doing to better manage the crowding between Brighton, Falmer and Lewes stations on match days:
· the use of risk assessment within their station event plans. This includes a supplementary plan for managing risk at Lewes station;
· an enhanced command and control arrangements to better manage passenger crowding;
· a strengthened capacity to provide rolling stock, including ensuring additional ‘football special’ services are provided on match days, and the prioritising of services to stations affected by match days;
· prioritising the staff rostering of match day-related services, including training driver assessors to covers any gaps in staff rosters;
· a check made 48-hours before events on whether or not full services can be provided and, if not, the use of communication plans through Southern, the British Transport Police (BTP), Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club and their security contractors and Sussex Police to inform passengers over changes to services;
· enhanced arrangements between Southern, and Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club and the Away Club to provide additional coaches as necessary; and
· plans for a ‘table top’ exercise between Southern and the BTP to test the coordination of these contingency plans early in 2017.
Nonetheless, we will continue to actively monitor Southern’s arrangements for safely managing passenger crowding during future football fixtures.
Thank, Lee Collins
Office of Rail and Road
Lee Collins
Strategy, Planning and System Safety
Railway Safety Directorate
