Emergency response, accident and incident reporting, emergency information for rail staff
Emergency information in the train
The RID consignment procedures require emergency information to accompany the consignment, and the railway undertaking's safety management system requires emergency plans for the traffic it carries. In practice this means the CIM note and the written emergency instructions must be with the train, in the hands of the crew who will need them at the site - not locked in a supervisor's office two stations away.
First actions at an incident
Stop and protect the line; notify the signaller or control with exact location, train identity and the dangerous goods identified. Identify the load from the placards and orange plates (UN number) and match the wagon numbers against the train list. Approach from upwind, keep ignition sources away, cordon the area and do not enter confined spaces or attempt recovery of a damaged tank-wagon before it has been assessed.
Reporting
Two streams run in parallel. Internally, the railway undertaking records and investigates under its safety management system and notifies the national safety authority where the national rules require it. Under RID, the contracting state compiles accident and incident data for OTIF, so the local report must capture the fields that feed that return: date and place, UN number, class and packing group, quantity, nature of the event (leak, fire, derailment), cause, consequences and remedial action. The DGSA investigates and reports on accidents under 1.8.3.3.
Worked example
A tank-wagon of Class 8 is derailed and leaking at a yard. The crew protects the line, reports the UN number read from the orange plate, and evacuates upwind. Only after the substance is confirmed is the cordon distance fixed; the wagon is not righted until the tank has been assessed and the product transferred. The written report then names the UN number, quantity and damage, giving the safety authority and the OTIF return real data.
Traps
Leaving documents in the cab of a locomotive that is uncoupled; guessing the substance instead of reading the plate; moving a damaged tank-wagon to clear the line; incomplete reports that cannot feed the national return.