Focusing in on musculoskeletal risk concerns

13 October 2025

What do the concerns we’ve listened to about the risk of musculoskeletal disorders tell us?

A recent survey on musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the rail industry, conducted by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), found that over 40% of participants identified workplace factors as contributing to their reported musculoskeletal issue. This industry-wide survey was conducted to gain further insight into MSDs, as they’ve been identified as a primary cause of sickness in the industry.

Since 2022/23, CIRAS’ reporting team has listened to 17 reporters raising concerns about MSD risks in the workplace. These are from across the transport industry, including railway and bus operations, with most of the reports sent to train operating companies (56%). At least nine different job roles across transport raised these concerns, providing a range of valuable views and perspectives.

Although there are fewer CIRAS reports about MSDs than there are about most other issues, this article provides a timely overview of those MSD risks we do hear about. It could prompt others to reach out so we can listen to their similar concerns. The RSSB survey findings noted that underreporting of MSDs within the rail industry is very likely.

Over the past four years, most MSD concerns reported to us were in 2023/24.

Types of MSD concerns

MSD concerns raised with us have been varied. They include railway station lifts being faulty, meaning that passengers and staff must manoeuvre heavy or awkward loads on stairs instead, risking musculoskeletal injury. Some reports have highlighted issues with workplace equipment, such as the layout of signaller workstations.

Others have been about railway station staff using portable boarding ramps for passengers with limited mobility. For example, one report mentioned that the ramp design available had poor useability because it was heavy and long. Reporters with MSD concerns most often perceived poor useability as being the root cause. This is within the root cause category of infrastructure, vehicles, equipment, and clothing.

Report outcomes

With each report we send, we ask for the responsible company to investigate and resolve the concerns raised, and to explain the outcome in its response.

At a bus garage, there were recurring issues with the large sliding doors to the depot, which could leave staff struggling to force them open. This put them at risk of a musculoskeletal injury. The company gave assurances that the reported faults would be repaired promptly. It also said it was looking into creating a quick communication system between anyone opening the doors and the engineering team, so that it could provide swift assistance if the doors weren’t opening easily.

Another report led to a train operating company planning to buy power-operated wheelchairs to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injury to staff assisting disabled passengers up and down steep station slopes.

Staff at a maintenance depot have also been rebriefed to use suitable manual handling techniques when moving heavy equipment, to reduce the risk of MSDs.

Case studies

1. Concern

A reporter raised concern that railway track replacement work did not suitably control for MSD risk due to the inadequate supply of equipment and tools to carry out the work. Due to time constraints, workers were left to use unsafe means to manoeuvre heavy sleepers.

Response

The company stopped work on the project to review what had happened and concluded that changes to planned working practices without suitable change management introduced risks. For future work on the project, the company improved the working methodology to reduce the risks. This included mechanising much of the work.

2. Concern

A reporter was concerned about faults on a bus that were causing frequent jolts to the heads and necks of anyone on board. The reporter stated that the jolts could lead to musculoskeletal injury.

Response

The company carried out a thorough investigation and took action to fix the faults. To reduce the risk of a similar occurrence in future, it also investigated the depot’s culture. This led to changes to improve the response to faults, as well as investing in new engine parts for buses at the depot to proactively lower the chance of the issue happening again.

If you have an MSD-related safety concern that you wish to raise confidentially, contact us. We will listen and raise the concern with the relevant company.