This Derailment Investigation and Analysis manual has been written as a reference guide to be used in the investigation of derailments.
This document describes aspects of train operations, rolling stock, infrastructure, and human factors that could cause or contribute to a derailment.
The Rail Safety National Law requires all rail systems to have a Safety Management System (SMS) in place. SMS is a risk-based system, this means that the organisation has identified the main hazards for its activities and assessed the level of risk associated with these activities. Control measures are then developed and introduced in the form of policies, standards and specifications. The investigation would check against the system to ensure it is adequately identifying and managing the hazards.