Alcohol-related Problems on the Railway
Risk Solutions recently led a major study on 'Managing the Risks to Safety and Personal Security from Alcohol' as part of the rail industry’s R&D programme, managed by RSSB and funded by DfT. Risk Solutions worked with Ipsos MORI, Liverpool John Moores University and SPN Associates to: analyse industry data over a ten year period to identify patterns and trends in alcohol-related incidents; survey staff and members of the public about their perceptions of the problems and what should be done to address them; consult the industry and learn from the experiences of other countries and industries on ways of reducing alcohol-related problems. We found that a high proportion of both passengers and staff believe that antisocial and aggressive behaviour is alcohol-related, and that this is a key area of concern. There is considerable support for stronger measures to address alcohol-related problems on the railways, although many of the more popular measures could have significant cost implications. The research identified a wide variety of ways of reducing alcohol-related problems and presented these in a good practice guide. Although there are things that individual rail companies can do, many of the measures require the industry to work with local communities and/or other industry players to achieve maximum effect. The project report and good practice guide have been published on RSSB’s website: http://www.rssb.co.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/pdf/reports/research/T704_guide_final.pdf |
