Consequences of the first four FSPs on safety management within each convoy
Rail Safety Principles. Issues and Perspectives

Principles PSF1 to PSF4 lead to specific requirements within each convoy:

• guarantee the integrity of the convoy and avoid coupler failure, which could cause part of the convoy to drift away or be hit by another train;

• ensure traceability of physical quantities (mass, braking power, length) when modifying a train's composition by adding or cutting cars or wagons, and carry out a brake test on the new train to ensure that all brakes are actually in action after the composition change. This is a particularly sensitive issue for work trains, whose mass may change during construction (unloading of ballast), or which may be split into sub-convoys in work zones before being reassembled for transport to their work base.

The protection of people and property leads to specific railway...