The role of the human factor in railway accidents

Introduction. Emergencies in railway transport cannot be completely eliminated only as a result of organizational or technical measures. The share of human error as the main cause of traffic accidents in the world has a growing trend. At the same time, insufficient attention is paid to the role of reducing the functional state of an employee in increasing the risk of accidents in the train safety management system.

The study aims to establish the role of the "human factor" in the occurrence of transport accidents based on the analysis of the results of pre-trip medical examinations (PTME) and psychophysiological examinations (PFE) of locomotive crew workers (LCW), and to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing system of measures to ensure train safety (ETS).

Methods and materials. The authors analyzed the causes and circumstances of 22 accidents and 343,510 disruptions in the work of locomotive crews at Russian Railways in the period 2022-2024 in accordance with official data and analysis results of the automated system "Trusted Environment" (AS TE). Specialists assessed the functional state of LCW: PFE in UPDC‑MK, OA Neurocom; PTME in KAPD-02-ST; dynamic control of the functional state (DCFS) with the definition of the groups "norm", "maladaptation", "failure of adaptation" based on the analysis of 542578 records of person-days (339,890 — the main group and 202,688 — the control group). Based on the results of the analysis of disorders and the level of functional status, an integrated risk group and a preventive group (RG/PG) were formed from the NBD-2 Automated control system, PTME, DCFS and PFE.

Results. An analysis of the incidents shows that frequent gross violations are cases of stop signal overrun (SSO). The risk of SSO is 1.6-3 times higher among machinists than among assistant machinists and trainees and is more often detected in the age group of 30-69 years compared with groups of 20–29 years and over 70 years, p<0.001. In the state of "failure of adaptation", the risk of violations is higher than in the state of "norm" OR=1.10 [1.07–1.12], p<0.001. It was found that 87% of violations are committed by 39% of LCW that were included in GR/PG 2 or more times within 3 months before the violation; 68% of violations are committed by 11% of LCW who were included in GR/PG 3 or more times; 49% of violations are committed by 1.7% of machinists who 4 times and more were included in GR/PG. 49.50 [7.74–99.23] hours of processing per year were detected in persons with violations, 32.50 [0.00–67.58] hours in persons without violations, p<0.001.

Limitations. The research conducted is limited in terms of taking into account the specifics of the detected violations and the severity of their consequences.

Conclusion. In the vast majority of cases, traffic jams, gatherings, fires and other gross violations are committed by drivers who are irresponsible, undisciplined and/or have a decrease in their functional state. A direct relationship was revealed between the forecast of the driver's inclusion in the PG/RG and the results of the automated pre-trip medical examination system.

Ethics. This study did not require the conclusion of the Ethics Committee, all data were presented in a depersonalized form.

Contributions:
Kostenko N.A. — fundamental elements of the article, such as concept, design, methodology;
Zibarev E.V. — research design, data collection and processing, text writing;
Borisova E.V. — data collection and processing, writing text;
Mezhkenov S.A. — data collection and processing.

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Received: 08.04.2025 / Accepted: 30.05.2025 / Published: 05.07.2025

1. Official website of Russian Railways. https://company.rzd.ru/ru/9377

2. International Railway Safety Council. https://clck.ru/3MmkE9

3. Shmatchenko V.V., Meremson Yu.Ya., Ivanov V.G. Specifics of traffic safety at railway crossings. Izvestiya Peterburgskogo universiteta putey soobshcheniya. 2022. 19(1): 143–154. https://doi.org/10.20295/1815-588X-2022-19-1-143-154 https://elibrary.ru/zjqoxx

4. UIC Report 2024: Statistics of railway accidents. https://clck.ru/3MmkDv

5. Weber J., Müller A., Stiller M., Borchart D. Prognostic effects of selection, optimization and compensation strategies on work ability: results from the representative lidA cohort study on work, age, and health in Germany. Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health. 2018; 91(8): 1061–1071. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-018-1348-x

6. UIC Report 2023: Statistics of railway accidents. https://clck.ru/3MmkGN

7. Bobko N.A. Profesional reability of locomotive driver under shiftwork: effect of biological and social factors. Environment & health. 2016; 2(78): 70–76 (in Russian).

8. Kozubenko V.G., Kostetsky V.E. The role of monitoring the psychophysiological state of a locomotive driver in ensuring traffic safety. Vestnik Rostovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta putey soobshcheniya. 2000; 3: 129–132 https://elibrary.ru/jwinst (in Russian).

9. Fagamova A.Z., Kaptsov V.A., Karimova L.K., Shapoval I.V., Muldasheva N.A. Workplace stress: the main causes and preventive measures (literature review). Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2022; 101(9): 1065–1071. https://doi.org/10.47470/0016-9900-2022-101-9-1065-1071 https://elibrary.ru/xaaxhf (in Russian).

10. Bodrov V.A. Psychology of professional suitability: a textbook for universities. Moscow: PER SE; 2001. (in Russian).

11. Gimaeva Z.F., Karimova L.K., Bakirov A.B., Kaptsov V.A., Kalimullina D.Kh. Risks of cardiovascular diseases evolvement and occupational stress. Health Risk Analysis. 2017; 1: 106–115. https://doi.org/10.21668/health.risk/2017.1.12 https://elibrary.ru/yhphlz

12. Struchalin V.G., Narusova E.Y., Navcenya V.Y. Labor protection of members of locomotive crews, taking into account the increasing labor intensity. XXI vek: itogi proshlogo i problemy nastoyashhego plyus. 2020; 9(51(3)): 179–183. https://doi.org/10.46548/21vek-2020-0952-0034 https://elibrary.ru/edycuk (in Russian).

13. Rakhimboyev H.D., Abdikarimova U.R., Kurbanova Sh.I. Assessment of gravity and tension of work of drivers of the engine of railroad transport. Innovative development of modern science: problems, patterns, prospects: collection of articles from the VII International scientific and practical conference. Penza, June 10, 2018: 310-312 https://elibrary.ru/xpwulr (in Russian).

14. Gulyaeva G.V. About some aspects of reliability of professional activity of railway transport workers. Molodezhnaya nauka: tendentsii razvitiya. 2022; 1: 25–33. https://elibrary.ru/ecktto (in Russian).

15. Tchernov O.E., Alexeyev S.A., Kolyagin V.Ya. Medical and psychologic background for safety of occupational activity of locomotive crew members. Russian Journal of Occupational Health and Industrial Ecology. 2017; (7): 3–8 https://elibrary.ru/zcpymv (in Russian).

16. Vilk M.F., Latynin E.O., Sachkova O.S. Analysis of indicators of functional state and performance of locomotive breads of fast ang high-speed traffic when using automated guidance systems. Problemy bezopasnosti rossiyskogo obshchestva. 2023; 4(44): 21–28 https://elibrary.ru/upqxky (in Russian).

17. Zenkevich A.G. The role of the human factor in ensuring safety in railway transport. Problems of safety in transport: in the collection of materials of the X International scientific and practical conference. Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Belarus, Belarusian Railway, Educational Institution "Belarusian State University of Transport". 2020: 23–24 https://elibrary.ru/gupwac (in Russian).

18. Sorokin G.A., Chistyakov N.D., Suslov V.L. Influence of fatigue and overwork on the General morbidity of workers. Russian Journal of Occupational Health and Industrial Ecology. 2019; (8): 494–500. https://doi.org/10.31089/1026-9428-2019-59-8-494-500 https://elibrary.ru/aibyvn (in Russian).

19. Demcheva N.K., Churkin A.A. Identification of risk groups for the development of mental disorders associated with the stress of the work process. Psikhicheskoye zdorov'ye. 2012; 79(12): 90–98 (in Russian).

20. Lebedev M.A., Palatov S.Yu., Kovrov G.V. Fatigue and its manifestations. RMZH «Meditsinskoe obozrenie». 2014; 22(4): 282–286 https://clck.ru/3MmmVC (in Russian).

21. Glukhov D.V., Yushkova O.I., Kapustina A.V., Forwerts A.Yu., Kostenko N.A. Physiological assessment of the functional state of workers in neuro-emotional labor of different ages according to the results pre-shift control. Russian Journal of Occupational Health and Industrial Ecology. 2024; 64(6): 378–386. https://doi.org/10.31089/1026-9428-2024-64-6-378-386 https://elibrary.ru/vjpooz (in Russian).

22. State report of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia "On the state of protection of the population and territory of the Russian Federation from emergency situations of natural and man-made nature in 2023". https://rosstat.gov.ru/statistics/transport. (in Russian).

23. Belov P. The number of transport accidents on public railways in 2023 remained at the level of the previous year. Information portal of Russian Railways Partner.ru. 2024. February 22. https://clck.ru/3Mmko6 (in Russian).

24. Official website of Rostransnadzor. https://clck.ru/3MmkqB (in Russian).