ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the background to programmes of research to understand mental workload in train driving and signalling. It focuses on the development of signalling workload tools in particular. While workload has been studied so intensively and for so long in other industries including transport there is a dearth of contributions on workload and the railways. One of the most widely used and debated concepts in ergonomics/human factors is that of mental workload (MWL). The notion has widespread acceptance in assessing the impact of new tasks, comparing the effects of different job or interface designs and understanding the consequences of different levels of automation. The chapter discusses the choice across broad mental workload measurement approaches, such as, analytical approaches, and empirical approaches. The Network Rail sponsored research on workload in signalling has been paralleled by a rail safety and standards board examination of driving workload and development of tools.
