Alcohol and drug testing

RailCorp has a stringent attitude towards the use of alcohol or drugs in the workplace. Our policy of having a workplace free from alcohol or drugs is part of our commitment to building a safer network for our customers and staff.

All permanent and contract employees -  including frontline staff, those in safety-critical roles, maintenance crews, administrative staff and senior management - are subject to random testing at any time while they are on duty or signing on for duty.

The Independent Safety and Reliability Regulator (ITSRR) requires rail operators to conduct random alcohol and drug tests on 25 per cent of employees each year. RailCorp also has its own annual targets of testing 21,370 people for alcohol and 4820 for drugs.

An alcohol limit of 0.02 or 2 milligrams of alcohol in every 100 millilitres of blood applies to all staff. This is the same limit that applies to drivers of public buses, taxis, large trucks and vehicles containing dangerous goods in NSW. One standard drink would put someone over the level of 0.02.

Employees who fail drug or alcohol tests are removed immediately from safety-critical duties. The continuing employment of any employee who fails an alcohol or drug test is dependent on the successful completion of a rehabilitation, return to work and monitoring program. Serious or ongoing breaches may result in dismissal.

Random alcohol testing

January - March 2008
The rate of positive results to alcohol in the last 12 months was 0.13%, representing one in every 786 employees randomly tested.

Around 60% of positive test results are recorded in the low range of between 0.02 and 0.05. The proportion of low range detections as a percentage of all positive results has improved since random testing was introduced.

Random drug testing

January - March 2008
The rate of positive results to illegal drugs in the last 12 months was 1.42%, representing one in every 70 employees randomly tested. This rate is an improvement on the overall rate of 1.60% since the program’s inception.