Right across Europe, we’re failing to reduce the number of railway worker fatalities and serious injuries. In fact, the UK’s RSSB figures showed a 16% increase in overall harm to employees last year. The board’s latest Annual Health and Safety Report notes 438 severe injuries were sustained by railway staff in just 12 months. Surprisingly, it’s not the trains doing the most damage. While a range of factors contribute to workplace injuries, slips, trip and falls continue to be among the leading three causes of reported incidents.
Europe-wide, there are huge discrepancies in casualty rates. The EU Agency for Railways’ Safety Overview 2025 reports a 10-fold difference between the countries with the highest and lowest accident rates.
Like the UK, the latest European data shows an increasing year-on-year pattern. In 2023, there were 1,565 significant accidents in member states – an average of more than four a day. Aside from the unquestionable human toll, it is estimated these incidents cost the industry €3.5 billion per annum.
When we have access to more technology, more data and more oversight than ever before, why is no clear progress being made in the reduction of serious injuries? Why is working on the railways more dangerous than it has been for years?
The EU Agency for Railways has called for the fast implementation of common methods for assessing safety levels and performance, along with an EU-wide incident reporting scheme. It believes these interventions are essential to assess and improve how safety is managed across the continent.
Hopefully this will lead to a more consistent approach to safeguarding measures, but until this is in place, it continues to fall to the rail operators and industry suppliers to prioritise the welfare of staff and introduce processes that make going to work something we can all do without fear of serious injury.
Modernising maintenance
One company at the forefront of depot safety is Sheffield-based Zonegreen, part of the Sentric Safety Group.
Zonegreen rail safety solutions are the result of more than a century’s railway experience and expertise and use the latest technology to automate personal protection procedures and improve vehicle movement efficiency. Its suite of products is renowned for its quality, safety and reliability and they already protect thousands of depot workers and miles of infrastructure worldwide.
The Zonegreen Depot Personnel Protection System (DPPS) is not only used widely in the UK, but also helps to ensure the safety of staff in depots across Australasia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
DPPS safeguards workers in areas of risk by controlling vehicle movements and automating safety procedures to remove the potential for errors associated with common manual processes.
The system is underpinned by Network Rail-approved powered derailers, which physically protect staff from unexpected vehicle movements. They are activated when individuals log-on to road end panels using RFID tags that record where they are working. These panels are situated in convenient locations within the maintenance building, normally next to depot doors, to give supervisors a clear line of sight when authorising access permission for trains.
Only after the derailer has been lowered will the shunt signal instruct the driver to proceed. Audible and visual warnings are then activated on the affected road, alerting staff to a moving vehicle.
Information from DPPS is fed back to the Zonegreen Depot Manager SCADA system. It records all aspects of the depot protection, displays the location of personnel, along with the status of plant and equipment, providing full traceability.
DPPS is one of the safest depot protection systems on the market, having been independently assessed as compliant with IEC61508 and the rigour and content required by SIL2. The latest Zonegreen RFID panel is also Eurofins certified to meet the railway and radio emissions standards. It can be interlocked with third-party equipment in a rail depot and uses modern electronics, to future-proof each installation.
Eurostar depot receives update
Staff at the Eurostar Temple Mills Traincare Depot in London are one of the latest facilities to benefit from an upgrade to Zonegreen DPPS.
As part of the major overhaul, Zonegreen installed RFID-controlled Road End Panels (REPs), which are linked to new generation powered derailers, helping to provide physical protection for personnel while supporting more efficient vehicle movements throughout the depot. An additional Remote Access Panel was also added to increase operational flexibility.
The upgraded system is integrated with the latest version of Zonegreen Depot Manager. The SCADA-based software provides a graphical overview of the protection system, monitors the status of plant and equipment, and records depot activity, supporting traceability and fault diagnosis
Gemma Houghton, head of rail, said: “We are delighted that Eurostar has continued to place its trust in Zonegreen and DPPS by choosing to upgrade to the latest generation of our technology. The improvements delivered through this project make the system more user-friendly while supporting its long-term performance and future development.”
Innovative interlocking
Interlocking is a crucial component in any rail depot, protecting personnel and equipment against a momentary lapse in concentration or a small error of judgement that can have dire consequences.
Zonegreen provides interlocking solutions in partnership with French sister firm, Serv Trayvous Interverrouillage (STI), based in Montreuil, just outside Paris. It has supplied trapped key interlocking to the rail industry for more than 130 years and is ensuring safety standards are upheld in depots across France.
Trapped key interlocking (sometimes referred to as a key transfer system) uses a series of coded keys to prevent certain functions from being performed or access to high-risk areas, unless a specified set of safety conditions are met. It provides the failsafe, sequenced control of cantenary or power systems, helping to prevent accidental re-energisation and restricting access, unless dangerous equipment is isolated and earthed.
A range of third-party products can be interlocked, including:
- Overhead lines
- High level gantries
- Bogie drops
- Boxing rings
- Lifting jacks
- Turntables
- Cranes
The future of interlocking
For depots looking to upgrade their interlocking processes, The Zonegreen Electronic Interlocking Solution (EIS) is an advanced safety system, not only designed to protect personnel and equipment, but also to enhance operational efficiency.
It uses intelligent control panels and electronic sensors to authorise the operation of depot equipment and control access to hazardous areas. By enforcing a pre-set sequence of events for every procedure, operations can only proceed once all safety conditions are met. For example, it is only possible to access high level gantries when the cantenary is isolated.
SNCF facility, Joncherolles in Paris, is just one of the modern maintenance depots benefiting from the installation of Zonegreen EIS. It spans 12 hectares, employs 456 personnel and maintains an average of 60 trains every 24 hours.
Joncherolles has enjoyed a long relationship with STI, following the installation of trapped key interlocking at the facility in 1998. SNCF’s continued confidence in the company resulted in Zonegreen EIS being installed on three tracks in 2024, to enhance existing interlocking procedures and authorise the operation of cranes, gantry access gates, gap filler moveable platforms and train gap cushions. The system is programmed to ensure the third-party equipment can only be used when the catenary is isolated and retracted, and the train is in position and powered down.
Electronic interlocking panels equipped with an intuitive HMI controller are installed to allow the operation of the system and provide users with information on the status of the interlocked equipment.
The software used to operate Zonegreen EIS can be reprogrammed to accommodate any safety sequence and it is easier to scale than its manual counterpart, as physical locks and keys are not required.
Like all Zonegreen products, the system uses failsafe principles to produce the highest reliability rates and remote diagnostics for monitoring and troubleshooting, reducing potential downtime. Encrypted communication and authentication software also ensures fast operational speeds and tamper-proof security.
Find out more
Interlocking and DPPS are just two of the rail safety solutions Zonegreen is using to transform the lives of maintenance staff, across the UK and Europe.
All Zonegreen solutions can be tailored to the specific needs of each facility and are configurable with other third-party equipment. Similarly bespoke maintenance packages are also offered to maximise longevity and operability.
To find out more about the whole suite of Zonegreen solutions, telephone (0114) 230 0822, visit http://www.zonegreen.com, or follow on LinkedIn: Zonegreen Ltd. Its team will be happy to arrange a site visit.
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