With a fleet of more than 12,700 cars, vans, trucks and grey fleet, Network Rail is responsible for the operation and development of the UK’s railway infrastructure, including more than 20,000 miles of railway track, 30,000 bridges, and signals, level crossings and stations.
All new Network Rail fleet vehicles since 2019 have anti-locking brake systems (ABS), traction control, cruise control and parking sensors. All commercial vehicles were fitted with a speed limiter. Network Rail has begun its rollout of electric vehicles, delivering training to 450 employees.
As part of its safer roads initiative, the Network Rail internal fleet team work to collate information on drivers and vehicles. This includes licence points, incidents, training history, fuel economy and tyre replacement. Using this information, Network Rail can tailor its driver training to target individual needs, which reduces risk and improves vehicle condition.
Since implementing these training and vehicle safety initiatives, Network Rail has reported a 10% reduction in at-fault incidents; their at-fault incident per million miles has fallen from 2.98 (2022) to 2.28 (2023) showing a 23% reduction across the fleet.
The Safe Vehicles Award, sponsored by Geotab, was presented to Network Rail at the UK Fleet Champions Awards 2024. The award celebrates the organisation that has worked hardest to improve the safety and environmental impact of vehicles used on behalf of their business. Efforts to replace vehicle fleets with improved models, fit additional safety components to vehicles, and manage maintenance procedures in line with manufacturer recommendations will also be recognised.
Click here to find out more about the UK Fleet Champions Awards and the 2024 award winners.