UK railway industry managers will be rewarded for introducing innovative measures to reduce worker fatigue.

The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is running its Railway Group Award 2013 for Fatigue Management for the second year and it hopes to raise awareness of how dangerous tired employees can be.

New laws to restrict the number of hours people employed in the rail sector can work were introduced in the aftermath of a major train crash at Clapham Junction in 1988.

The incident claimed the lives of 35 people and a further 500 were injured. A judge later discovered that worker fatigue was a contributing factor to the disaster.

Martin Leeks - IOSH Railway Group chair - said: "The issue of fatigue has been bubbling under the surface for a while, so it's vital our rail industry deals with it now."

Nominations for the award will be taken between April and September, before the winners are announced in November.

The Health and Safety Executive has also urged transport managers to plan shift work very carefully so as to avoid staff tiredness.