Article from HindSight 35 published in September 2023

The concept of Just Culture is gaining traction in the railway industry, influenced by a European directive and the European Union Agency for Rail's promotion of safety culture. Michaela Schwarz and Nora Balfe report on conversations with safety management professionals from European railways to discuss the current application, challenges, and advantages of a Just Culture approach.

The Future of Just Culture in Rail

In addition to the collaboration between ERA and EUROCONTROL, a range of support tools is emerging to develop and grow human factors and safety culture in the rail industry. One of these is the RailHOF platform (www. railhof.org) which combines an active LinkedIn group with a discussion forum hosted by the International Union of Railways (UIC) and a public website providing introductory materials to a range of topics, including Just Culture. A second is a forthcoming training course developed by ERA alongside a working group from the rail sector. We hope that these communities of practice will help drive the rail sector to excel in the application of Just Culture