The deputy chief inspector at the Rail Accident Investigation Branch Andy Lewis is being promoted to chief inspector from November. He will replace Andrew Hall, who is retiring.

Andy Lewis has an engineering background, having trained as a marine engineer with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and then serving as an engineering officer before moving to the railway industry in the mid-1990s.

He was involved with the introduction of new trains before becoming a consultant on rail vehicle safety, managing modification projects such as the fitting of data recorders on trains.

He joined the RAIB as an inspector in 2007, progressing to leading a team of investigators as a principal inspector in 2019. He then became responsible for RAIB’s operational teams as deputy chief inspector in 2022,

He said: ‘It is a great privilege to take on the role of Chief Inspector. I would like to thank Andrew Hall for his outstanding leadership during a highly successful period for RAIB. I look forward to building on the Branch’s widely recognised reputation for delivering high-quality, independent safety investigations and to working with my exceptional colleagues as we continue to develop and strengthen RAIB for the future.’