York recently played host to a significant gathering of the global rail safety community, as Network Rail and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) welcomed over 200 delegates from 22 countries for two landmark international events: International Rail Trespass Awareness Day (TReSPAD) on 4 June and International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD) on 5 June.
Organised by the International Union of Railways (UIC), ILCAD and TReSPAD are global campaigns dedicated to raising awareness and enhancing safety at level crossings and along railway tracks. This year’s overarching theme, “Safe decisions – every time,” underscored the rail industry’s commitment to empowering individuals to make better choices in and around railway environments.
The events brought together a diverse range of experts, including rail safety specialists, infrastructure managers, law enforcement professionals, policymakers, technology innovators, and academics from across Europe, the USA, and beyond. Attendees engaged in discussions and shared strategies, insights, and practical solutions concerning critical issues such as risk assessments, technical innovation, public education, and cross-sector collaboration.
The choice of the National Rail Museum in York as the venue was particularly symbolic, given that 2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the world’s first passenger railway.
Martin Frobisher, Group Safety & Engineering Director at Network Rail, commented: “Great Britain is at the forefront when it comes to rail expertise, innovation and safety. Therefore, it was fitting for us to bring together rail safety professionals from all over the world to engage in a collaborative and impactful way in this, the 200th anniversary of our railway’s creation. We’ve all been inspired to take our learnings from ILCAD and TReSPAD back to our respective corners of the world and continue in our efforts to reduce harm and suffering within rail settings.”
Dr. Ann Mills, Deputy Director System Safety & Health at RSSB, Chair of the UIC TreSP-Network and Vice Chair of the UIC Safety Platform, added: “Bringing together the railway and its stakeholders to share experiences and approaches in trespass and suicide prevention is crucial. Despite differences in train design, tracks, signals, and landscapes, these are global issues. By collaborating and sharing knowledge on a worldwide scale, we can create more effective strategies to address them. The collective efforts at ILCAD and TRESPAD will not only enhance safety but also save lives, ensuring a safer and more secure railway environment for everyone.”
The UIC’s Director General, Francois Davenne, highlighted the importance of these campaigns: “Rail safety is the backbone of keeping our trains and passengers running safely and ensuring safe working conditions for train crews. Level crossing collisions, rail trespassing and suicides are the leading causes of death in the rail industry. That is why we are particularly proud to have spearheaded ILCAD, a public awareness campaign on level crossing safety, launched in 2009 first in Europe and then extended to all five continents. In 2022, UIC launched a second campaign called TReSPAD to address trespassing on railway tracks. Not only our members, but also road safety advocates, academics, and researchers, participate in our official launch conferences and/or conduct safety awareness activities in their own countries during ILCAD and TReSPAD. We thank Network Rail and RSSB for hosting us and for making this another successful year for our events.”
UIC data underscores the urgency of these efforts: in 2023, 36 railway companies from 33 countries reported an average of 10 victims per week at level crossings, with 77% of pedestrian collisions proving fatal. These events serve as a vital platform for sharing best practices and driving international progress in rail safety.
Here in Great Britain, the railway experiences an average of 19,000 trespass incidents and 1,500 near misses with trains at level crossings every year. Next week will see the British rail community participate in Rail Safety Week, with events spanning the entire spectrum of safety concerns, from workforce protections to passenger and public safety in all rail environments.
