Occurrence severity rating examples

All Categories - Severity 1

• Deaths to people
• Harm to people that requires hospital treatment, or
• Property damage that is estimated to be $200,000 or more (significant damage)

Collision – Severity 2

• A collision when there were passengers on board
• A collision with a person that didn’t require hospital treatment
• A collision that caused minor or moderate damage and placed the property at risk of significant damage (more than $200,000)
• A collision with an object on track where the object became a hazard (ie endangered people/property as a result)
• An obstruction that smashes a window when in-service

Collision – Severity 3

A collision that doesn’t meet the severity 1 or 2 criteria

Communications system failure – Severity 2

A failure of a communication system that prevented the transmission of alarms from train monitoring and/or wayside detectors, which placed people or property in imminent danger

Communications system failure – Severity 3

A deficiency of communications equipment that prevented a transmission, but it didn’t lead to any damage or risk of significant harm

Dangerous goods – Severity 2

A dangerous or hazardous goods occurrence that doesn’t meet the severity 1 criteria, but requires (or should have required) emergency services to attend

Dangerous goods – Severity 3

A dangerous or hazardous goods occurrence that doesn’t require emergency services to attend (eg a wagon or container was used to transport dangerous good and didn’t have the correct documentation and/or placards with it)

Derailment – Severity 2

• A derailment of a passenger rail vehicle that had passengers on board, but no one required hospital treatment for their injuries
• A derailment that caused damage (not estimated to be more than $200,000)

Derailment – Severity 3

A derailment that didn’t cause damage and no injuries occurred (eg a lift off derailment)

Electrical infrastructure irregularity – Severity 2

• An electric rail vehicle travels from a live area to a dead area of overhead power and livens the dead area, putting people at risk of serious injury
• A rail worker receives a shock from a rail vehicle
• There are reports of a live overhead line touching the ground or a structure/vehicle

Electrical infrastructure irregularity – Severity 3

• A tram, electric locomotive or EMU is directed into a non-electrified road where it runs out of overhead traction wire
• Some debris is hanging from an overhead traction wire

Explosion – Severity 2

• A trackside explosion next to a rail vehicle or property that caused damage (not estimated to be more than $200,000)
• An explosion (eg firework) on a passenger rail vehicle when there were passengers on board, but none were injured requiring hospital treatment

Explosion – Severity 3

An explosion is reported and the nearby track is closed pending confirmation there are no track issues

Fire and fumes – Severity 2

• A trackside fire next to a rail vehicle or property that caused damage (not estimated to be more than $200,000)
• A fire on a rail vehicle that caused damage (not estimated to be more than $200,000)
• A fire on a passenger rail vehicle in service
• Smoke or fumes filling a passenger compartment while in service

Fire and fumes - Severity 3

• A trackside fire away from rail vehicles or property that is extinguished before any damage occurs or any rail vehicles are at risk
• A fire on a non-passenger vehicle (including dynamic brake grid fires) that does not cause any damage
• Smoke or fumes (without observed fire) coming from a rail vehicle
• Activation of a personal fume/gas alarm that indicates that gas/fume levels are approaching a level that could be dangerous
• A fire evacuation at a railway station that has a safety impact on railway operations (eg safety critical staff are impacted or passengers move into the vicinity of rail vehicles)

Fire and fumes - Examples of what you don’t need to report

A fire alarm at a railway station that has no safety impact on railway operations

Level crossing occurrence – Severity 2

• A road vehicle fails to stop at a level crossing and there is nearly a collision with a rail vehicle
• Any damage to a level crossing that causes it to malfunction (wrong-side) and a train passes through the LX before a speed limit has been put in place
• A person walks or cyclist rides across the level crossing in front of a train (near collision)

Level crossing occurrence – Severity 3

• A person, cyclist or motorist passes across a level crossing in front of a train, but it is not close enough to be a near collision
• Damage to level crossing warning devices that doesn’t cause it to malfunction or is detected and managed before a train passes through the LX

Level crossing occurrence – Examples of what you don’t need to report

Contact between a road vehicle and a barrier arm that doesn’t cause damage to the level crossing warning devices

Load irregularity – Severity 2

• A load is protruding beyond the loading gauge
• A load activated a structural overload warning and the service had to reduce its speed to 40km or below to accommodate
• A dragging bond chain, loose strops or a load fell off

Load irregularity – Severity 3

• A load has shifted while in transit but has not moved beyond the loading gauge
• A load activated a structural overload warning, but the service didn’t have to reduce it’s speed below 40km to accommodate
• Incorrectly secured loads and/or doors found in-service or at destination

Movement authority exceeded – Severity 2

A train passed unauthorised into a section with workers in the corridor, but stopped in time after the driver spotted them (or the workers saw the train and moved)

Movement authority exceeded – Severity 3

A train passed unauthorised into a protected work area, but no one was working at the time

Rail vehicle irregularity – Severity 2

There is a component failure on a rail vehicle that causes a significant hazard

Rail vehicle irregularity – Severity 3

• Faulty passenger train doors (eg won’t close) while the train is at a platform
• A train’s brakes won’t release while on route

Railway security – Severity 2

• A person on the wrong side of the tracks when a service toots and stops short
• Emergency brakes applied as a trespasser crosses the tracks in front of a train
• A projectile thrown at an in-service rail vehicle that enters the cab and/or smashes a window

Railway security – Severity 3

Trespassers are witnessed accessing the corridor in a non-authorised location (eg not a on a cycle lane or public access way)

A near-collision with an object on track (including large animals) that was big enough it could have caused significant damage or harm if a collision had occurred

Antisocial behaviour that either compromises the safety of railway operations or puts rail passengers and/or workers at risk of harm (eg fights occurring on a train)

Security events that either compromise the safety of railway operations or put rail passengers and/or workers at risk of harm (eg Bomb threats on rail vehicles)

Railway security – Examples of what you don’t need to report

A report of someone at risk of being in the corridor, but never sighted in the corridor

Antisocial behaviour that doesn’t compromise railway operations safety nor put passengers and/or workers at risk of harm (eg fare evasion or tagging)

A passenger applying the emergency brake without cause, but the train is in a safe location

A near-collision with an object that wasn’t big enough to cause damage or injury if it had been collided with (eg branches from storm damage, small animals)

Trespassing stock reported in the rail corridor that didn’t result in a near collision

Runaway rail vehicle and partings – Severity 2

• A runaway rail vehicle or parting that travels through a high-risk piece of network (eg tunnel, LX, station, worksite)
• A runaway rail vehicle or parting where the rail vehicle(s) are stopped in an uncontrolled way before a collision or derailment occurs
• A runaway rail vehicle that has changed direction at least once (ie because of a reversal in gradient) prior to stopping
• A runaway rail vehicle or parting that placed people at risk of serious injury or death, or property at risk of significant damage
• A runaway rail vehicle or parting involving a passenger service

Runaway rail vehicle and partings – Severity 3

• A runaway rail vehicle (except a passenger service) that stops through braking systems in a safe part of the mainline (eg not in a tunnel or on a LX)
• An unintentional yard parting where the parted rail vehicle(s) come to a controlled stop without endangering people
• A parting involving freight services on the NRS that is stopped using braking systems in a safe part of the network (eg not a tunnel or LX)

Safe working rule or procedure breach – Severity 2

A track worker moved into the vicinity of a track work vehicle while it was still in operation

An operator shunted some wagons while other yard workers were in the vicinity (ie in the rail corridor)

Blocking, a track warrant or some other type of authority applied by the train controller to the wrong location

Blocking, a track warrant or some other type of authority lifted by the train controller prior to rail vehicles or personnel being clear

Platform undershoot or overshoot where passenger doors opened onto track

Safety critical route notice (eg speed reduction) not being passed onto a rail vehicle driver

Safe working rule or procedure breach – Severity 3

Track workers were on track without the appropriate protection/blocking in place to prevent movement of a rail vehicle into the worksite

A train or other rail vehicle exceeding the speed limit

Platform undershoot or overshoot where passenger doors did not open onto track

Signal passed at danger (SPAD) – Severity 2

Category SPAD A where a train entered a section without authority and there was a risk of collision because there was potential for a conflicting movement

Signal passed at danger (SPAD) – Severity 3

Category SPAD A where a train entered a section without authority, but there was no risk of collision because the train had not moved into an area of conflict (beyond the clearance zone)

Category SPAD B infrastructure failure where the LE attempted to stop the train before the signal but went beyond the signal because of the circumstances

Signalling and other movement authority systems irregularity – Severity 2

A wrong-side failure of safe working equipment

Signalling and other movement authority systems irregularity – Severity 3

There is damage to the signalling track circuiting but it continues to operate correctly or fails in a safe mode

Suspected or attempted suicide – Severity 2

A person threatening self-harm was witnessed on the tracks and there was a near collision between them and the train

Suspected or attempted suicide – Severity 3

A person threatening to jump in front of a train (a believable threat)

Track and civil infrastructure irregularity – Severity 2

A slip, washout or flooding that caused damage (not estimated to be more than $200,000)

A heat buckle travelled over by a freight or passenger service outside a known speed-reduced heat zone

Failure of a tunnel ventilation system while a train or workers were in the vicinity

A rail breakage travelled over (or likely to have been) by a freight or passenger service

Track and civil infrastructure irregularity – Severity 3

A slip, washout or flooding that doesn’t cause any damage or only very minor damage

A rail integrity issue where it is not a broken rail, but needs attention before trains continue to travel over it (eg too many missing bolts on a fish plate or pandrol clips on a length of line)

A significant mudspot travelled over by a freight or passenger service at line speed with no temporary speed restriction in place

Track and civil infrastructure irregularity - Examples of what you don’t need to report

A rail breakage that is picked up and managed (eg during an inspection) before any trains have gone over it

Train warning and enforcement systems irregularity – Severity 2

Failure of mechanical train stop to stop a train after a SPAD event

Train warning and enforcement systems irregularity – Severity 3

Failure of a mechanical train stop but failure has been notified and other mitigations put in place