In the UK a number of high severity rail accidents, combined with structural change in the rail industry led to the need for revised accident investigation procedures. The revised procedure addressed identified issues with accident investigation, but to ensure maximum benefit in terms of identification of underlying causes of accidents and the production of good recommendations, training for rail industry accident investigators was required. The development of training followed the development of the revised procedure, with key decisions including the scope of the training and the delivery method that promotes the highest degree of information transfer and individual learning. The training has been delivered to the rail industry with considerable success but has, and continues, to face challenges as the industry structure continues to evolve. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.