Rail | Inquests & Inquiries

Rail inquiries

This page has a database of rail inquiries and reports, as well as resources and information about organisations working in this area. Click on an inquiry to go to its detailed page.. Please get in touch if there is a report or inquiry you would like to see added or if you find something which needs to be corrected.

Resources

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch publish their reports here.

Current/ongoing investigations have a summary here.

Great summaries of learning here.

Office of Road and Rail notices here.

Improvement and enforcement notices are here.

Unlike a lot of organisations, they also track progress on recommendations here and below

RAIB are pretty impressive and have considered how people might use their data. A bulk download is all that is missing really, so the data here is a scrape of the summary data to allow overall analysis and also for the master project of compiling themes from all accidents.

In the meantime you can bulk download all the RAIB reports from my google drive here

Rail Inquiries and reports

You can filter by type of report and theme of inquiry. Click apply to search and reset to start again.

The investigations found will be displayed and each has a link to this site's page for the inquiry it comes from, and a page direct to the government link if available.

Filter by Issues

Potters bar inquest

Themes

Rail, Safety

Issues

Inquiry page

Ladbroke Grove Rail Crash

Themes

Rail

The Ladbroke Grove Rail Inquiry, chaired by The Rt Hon Lord Cullen PC, investigated the collision between a Thames Trains turbo commuter train and a First Great Western High Speed Train on October 5, 1999, which resulted in 31 fatalities and 417 injuries. The inquiry, which took approximately 20 months to complete, made 185 recommendations aimed at addressing safety deficiencies and improving railway safety standards. The key focus areas included the enhancement of signal systems, driver training, and the implementation of the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS).

Issues

Inquiry page

Southall Rail Accident

Themes

Rail

The Southall Rail Accident Inquiry, chaired by Professor John Uff QC FREng, investigated the collision on September 19, 1997, between a passenger train and a freight train at Southall. The inquiry, which lasted 22 months and made 93 recommendations, aimed at improving railway safety.

Issues

Inquiry page

Train Protection Systems

Themes

Rail

The Joint Inquiry was established shortly after the Ladbroke Grove accident and during the course of the Southall Inquiry.

Issues

Inquiry page

Edinburgh tram

Themes

Politics, Rail

The Edinburgh Tram Inquiry investigated the delays, cost overruns, and reduced scope of the Edinburgh Trams project, ultimately providing 24 recommendations to prevent similar failures in future infrastructure projects

Issues

Inquiry page