RESTRAIL – REduction of Suicide and Trespass on the RAILways
RESTRAIL was a three-year research project which ended in September 2014. It was co-ordinated by UIC and co-funded under the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. The project aimed to help railway stakeholders reduce the number of suicides and trespassing accidents and the costly service disruption caused by these events. RESTRAIL provided the rail industry and the scientific community with a free online tool (www.restrail.eu/toolbox) comprising an extensive list of cost-effective interventions, recommendations, guidance materials and study results.
Workshops on how to use the toolbox
In less than three months since the project’s official closure, some members of the RESTRAIL consortium have already organised national workshops to disseminate the toolbox and train local experts to use the tool on a current basis. The first national workshop of this kind was organised on 2 December 2014 by Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration) in Stockholm. The 43 participants were all safety and security professionals, most of them working at Trafikverket. Notable attendees included the head of Safety for Trafikverket’s maintenance branch as well as the head of Security for Trafikverket. There were also representatives from Swedish railway undertakings and consultancy organisations.
In the opening session Maria Hedqvist and Helena Rådbo (Trafikverket) gave an overview of the RESTRAIL project, describing the main outcomes of each work package and providing some details about the RESTRAIL field test conducted in Sweden. Grigore Havarneanu (UIC) then presented the RESTRAIL toolbox and explained to the audience how to use the online version of the tool.
In the afternoon session, the participants applied the toolbox on a case study. They worked individually or in small groups and used the online tool and the Practical Guide (http://restrail.eu/IMG/pdf/restrail_book.pdf) in order to address and solve a real problem.
Outcomes of the workshop organised in Sweden
The feedback was positive and the return of experience was useful both for the participants who learned about this helpful tool, and for UIC which will continue to host, maintain and update the website for the benefit of the entire railway community.
The Swedish workshop was the first national action to present the final online version of the RESTRAIL toolbox and to train safety and security experts to use it. Other RESTRAIL consortium members or external partners are expected to organise similar workshops in 2015.
For further information about the toolbox please contact Grigore Havarneanu: havarneanu at uic.org;
For further information about the RESTRAIL project please contact Marie-Hélène Bonneau: bonneau at uic.org or visit the project’s webpage www.restrail.eu.
