Report a dangerous goods incident: rail
Form for freight companies transporting dangerous goods by rail to report an incident.
Companies transporting dangerous goods by rail must report any incidents or accidents that happen during:
- filling
- loading
- carriage
- unloading
Information you will need to report
To report an incident you will need to tell us about:
- the location, date and time that the incident happened
- the dangerous goods that were involved
- what happened before, during and after the incident
- the address of the consignor of the dangerous goods
- any damage or injuries caused
Report a dangerous goods rail incident
What is a serious incident?
You can use this form to report any incidents or near misses involving the carriage of dangerous goods.
It is a legal requirement to report an incident if it is a ‘serious’ incident.
An incident is classed as ‘serious’ if any of the following result from it.
Injury or death
If someone dies as a result of the incident or they:
- are unable to work for at least 3 consecutive days
- have to stay in hospital for 1 day or more
- require intensive medical treatment
Material or environmental damage more than £50,000
Where the estimated amount of damage is more than £50,000. This does not include the cost of damage to the vehicle or the transport infrastructure, for example, the road surface.
Authorities involved
An incident is classed as serious if both of the following apply:
- the authorities or emergency services are involved
- people have to be evacuated or public traffic routes (roads/railways) have to be closed for at least 3 hours
Loss of product, or immediate risk of loss
You must report any incident involving infectious substances (class 6.2) or radioactive material (class 7). For other goods, the legal requirement to report depends on:
- the amount of dangerous goods involved
- the transport category that the goods are in
Table showing the amount of dangerous goods required for each transport category
| Transport category | Amount of dangerous goods involved |
|---|---|
| Category 0 or 1 | 50 kilograms or 50 litres or more |
| Category 2 | 333 kilograms or 333 litres or more |
| Category 3 or 4 | 1,000 kilograms or 1,000 litres or more |
See this table of transport categories for dangerous goods on the HSE website.
Report a road, air or maritime incident
There are separate forms to report a: