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Safe and fast on the railway When you travel by train, you choose safety and mobility. Two essential features that really make the difference! You don’t sit in mile-long traffic jams and speed restrictions: with Infrabel, you're in good hands. Your safety is our top priority indeed. New technologies increase safety Infrabel constantly strive to do things better. We apply the latest technologies to make our railway system safer. GSM-R is one of those: railway personnel use GSM-R to communicate by mobile telephone: Station masters, engineers and signallers warn each other of the slightest danger. The European ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) also aims at improving safety by making railway equipment and signalling systems compatible. There are more than twenty different signalling systems. The gradual introductions of the ETCS signalling system on the European network, and most of the Belgian one, is intended to make those systems work better.
Maintenance prevents incidents The railway network requires maintenance. Without maintenance, accidents happen. This is why Infrabel checks the complete infrastructure twice monthly to make sure the area near the railway tracks is as it should be, to check if the infrastructure is not ageing, to confirm the bedding is strong enough, to check the state of bridges and tunnels, to check whether any work has been done recently. All these aspects need examining extremely closely - twice monthly.
Bridges replace level crossings In spite of the best safety precautions, level crossings remain a weak point. Operations are fully automatic. In the event of a malfunction, the fail-safe principle applies. The safety system takes over and prevents a level crossing from opening by mistake. Nevertheless, most incidents still occur at level crossings. Car driver carelessness or recklessness are usually to be blamed. Infrabel is therefore replacing level crossings with tunnels or bridges wherever possible. There were 3,929 level crossings in 1980...1,871 of those have since decommissioned.
Sensitive level crossings have priority Some level crossings - such as those where trains travel at more than 70 km per hour - are more dangerous than others. There is a total of 205 more vulnerable level crossings in the Infrabel system. Sixty-eight of those are being given extra equipment, such as barriers and light signals. Eighteen level crossings closed their barriers for good on 1 June 2005. Twenty-seven more will be closed soon, and the possible decommissioning of an additional 70 level crossings is being considered.
Campaign for more safety Together with the BIVV, Infrabel started a national awareness campaign on 29 September 2007. This was the third campaign in barely a year. Our message: As a driver, cyclist or pedestrian, your safety is in your own hands at a level crossing.
Everybody on the railway network At the request of Europe, Infrabel is opening up its tracks to other railway operators. Access is already available to freight...the passenger services will follow soon.
This does not mean you need to be concerned about your safety. Not just any train is allowed on the Belgian railway network. The Ministry of Transport applies strict and objective criteria prior to granting a license. The railway operator must meet a stringent list in conditions – just as we do. Their trains must for instance be compatible with our railway infrastructure, electrical power system and signalling system. The safety of passengers and personnel on board is also important.
And finally, the environmental impact is a critical factor.
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