A Better,

Safer
Railway

Structures and
earthworks rules changes
Briefing leaflet for drivers

Updated March 2021

Why have these changes been made?
On 12 August 2020 a passenger train was derailed by a landslip near
Stonehaven in Scotland. The driver, the conductor and a passenger lost
their lives. This has prompted the rail industry to make some urgent
changes to the Rule Book. We have taken the opportunity to provide
clearer instructions for dealing with damage to structures or earthworks,
and any unusual flows or pools of water that could cause damage.

The new rules are in addition to the existing rules for reporting flooding
on the track or track defects.

It’s important to remember that the investigations into the Stonehaven

derailment are still at an early stage – these changes aren’t intended
to pre-judge the outcome of the investigation. There may be further
changes over the coming weeks and months as RAIB learns more about
the causes of the accident.

Where can I find the new rules and when will

they be published?
There are changes to Rule Book modules M3 Managing incidents, floods
and snow, TW1 Preparation and movement of trains, G1 General safety
responsibilities and personal track safety for non-track workers, and
handbook HB1 General duties and track safety for track workers.

These changes come into force on 5 September 2020.

It wasn’t possible to include the changes in the September 2020

Rule Book updates as these had already gone to press at the time the
Stonehaven accident happened.

To reduce the possibility of confusion that might happen if multiple

different issues of these Rule Book modules were published close
together, the changes will be published as follows:
• in the Weekly Operating Notice (WON) on 5 September, the date they
come into force
• in the Rule Book App and the downloadable pdf Rule Book documents
on RSSB’s website from 5 December
• in the printed Rule Book modules in March 2021.

What do I need to report?

The new rules say that you must immediately tell the signaller if you see
either of the following:

• Any damage to structures or earthworks above or below the line.

• Any flowing or pooling water that might affect structures or earthworks.

What’s damage to structures or earthworks?

Examples of damage to structures or earthworks include:

• landslips
• washouts
• embankment failures
• retaining wall failures.

These are just examples, so if you see any other damage to structures
or earthworks that isn’t on the list you must still tell the signaller
immediately.
These pictures give you some examples of the types of damage that you
must report immediately.

Boundary wall failure Cutting failure

Cutting rock fall Earthwork failure and washout

Embankment failure Embankment failure

Retaining wall failure

Scour from running water Retaining wall failure

What type of flowing or pooling water should I
report?
Examples of flowing or pooling water that might affect structures or
earthworks include:

• water rising up from the track or the cess

• unusual amounts of water pooling next to the track or in the cess
• water flowing down or pouring out of the sides of embankments
or cuttings.

Again, these are just examples, so if you see any other unusual water
flows or pools that aren’t on the list but might affect structures or
earthworks you must still tell the signaller immediately.

How do I need to report it?

You must tell the signaller immediately if you see any of the things
covered by the new section 4.3 of module M3, Managing incidents, floods
and snow. If necessary, you must stop your train specially to make the
report.

If you can definitely see damage to structures or earthworks that might

put trains on lines other than your own in danger, you must carry out the
instructions for when other trains are put in danger as shown in section
43.1 of module TW1, Preparation and movement of trains. A new point
has been added to this section to make this clear.
How is this different from what I do now when I
report flooding?
The current rules in module M3 section 4.2 tell you to report ‘any flood
water that might affect the passage of trains’.

The new rules in module M3 section 4.3 mean you must also report
flowing or pooling water that might not be affecting trains at the
moment, but could be affecting structures or earthworks. For example,
water that’s pouring out of the side of cutting might not be causing a
problem for trains at the moment, but it could lead to a landslip or other
damage that might affect the line.

The rules give some more examples, but this is not complete list so if you
see any other incidents of flowing or pooling water that might affect
structures or earthworks then you must also report these in the same way.

The signaller has asked me to examine the line

to see if it is unaffected. I’m not a structures
engineer, what do I do?
Treat it like any other time you are asked to examine the line. You must
make sure that you carry out both the instructions the signaller gives you
and the rules in section 12 of module TW1.

It’s really important that you proceed at caution, so that you can stop
short of any damage or obstruction if you need to.

If, in your opinion the line doesn’t appear to be affected, then tell the
signaller this when you report back to them. You’re not expected to
make an engineering decision, you’re just being asked to see if there is
anything about the line you are travelling on that looks unusual.
How will I know it’s safe if the signaller tells me
to do something different from the rules in M3,
sections 4.4 and 7.2?
If the signaller tells you to do something different from the rules in M3
sections 4.4 and 7.2, this will be for one of two reasons:

• they are acting on instructions from Operations Control, or

• they are following their Signal Box Special Instructions (SBSIs).

Operations Control instructions and SBSIs will have been written with
the involvement of Network Rail’s structures and geotechnical engineers.
These engineers regularly examine the structures and earthworks in
their area of responsibility, so they know what condition they are in and
whether it is safe to allow trains to run.

It’s similar to the process that’s already in use when a road vehicle has
struck an underline bridge: the engineers have graded bridges according
to risk and allocated different dispensations to them. These dispensations
determine if and how a signaller can allow trains to run across a particular
bridge after it has been struck by a road vehicle but before it has been
inspected by a bridge strike nominee or bridge strike examiner.

Has anything else changed?

Sometimes when extreme weather is forecast, Operations Control might
tell the signaller to impose a blanket speed restriction in the affected area
as a precaution.

The signaller can do this using a GSM-R broadcast message, which you
will not normally have to acknowledge unless the message tells you to.
You must carry out the instructions in the GSM-R broadcast message.
 A Better,
Safer
Railway

Contact: https://customer-portal.rssb.co.uk/
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3142 5300
Twitter: @RSSB_rail
web: www.rssb.co.uk

RSSB
Floor 4, The Helicon
One South Place
London EC2M 2RB