The Light Rail Safety and Standards Board (LRSSB) were amongst the winners at the Global Light Rail Awards when they took place on 2nd October in London. Their project which has embraced virtual reality to boost light rail safety ended up taking the Significant Safety Initiative category.
This was a joint project between the LRSSB and simulator specialist AVANSIM and has seen new software developed which is building on the success of similar hazard perception system used during tram driver training and is aimed at workers operating on or near to the tracks. The Virtual Track Awareness tool can be run on almost any computer and provides a safe environment for workers to spot potential hazards.
Carl Williams, LRSSB Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted that the system has been so well received by the sector and it is already making a significant contribution to enhancing light rail safety. Receiving this accolade is a real bonus, and just recognition of all the hard work and innovative thinking behind the project.”
Ian Rowe, Director of AVANSIM, added: “We are honoured to be recognised with this award. We are proud to have worked in partnership with LRSSB to develop this graphical simulation system that provides standardisation and enables best practice across the light rail sector for track awareness.”