Railway Safety Legislation Update
Issue 76: June 2015
Author: Andy Bain
Safety Management System Specialist
RSSB
www.rssb.co.uk
1
Foreword
This Safety Legislation Update has been compiled by RSSB following consideration by the
Railway Safety Legislation Committee. Its aim is to identify emerging and revised health
and safety legislation and supporting documents, which may affect the members of the
railway industry. The update is not a definitive list of legislation and only represents the
knowledge available at the time of going to print. The update is revised quarterly.
How to use this update
The Legislation implementation and update status table
This provides details on the proposed implementation dates of the new or updated
legislation contained in this update together with a column showing whether the entry
has been updated or is new to this issue.
Entries and updates
 New entries to the update are identified as such in their titles
 Significant changes to entries since the previous issue have been identified with a
border
 Each entry is dated at the end with the month that the entry was last updated
 Entries in the update are deleted once they become law or soon after
Railway Safety Legislation Update Governance
The Data and Risk Strategy Group (DRSG) is the governance group for the Railway Safety
Legislation Update. The DRSG will:
 Alert RSSB members to actual and potential changes to safety-related legislation likely
to impact on their operations or business
 Seek to influence and respond in such a way as to ensure that RSSB members’
interests are recognised, promoted and protected
 Disseminate early indications and subsequent information regarding legislative
proposals that concern operational or occupational safety, their management or
reporting. This includes European, UK national and rail industry specific legislation
 Identify and consider the implications of proposals for the GB rail industry. Inform
and/or review RSSB activity in promoting or protecting its members’ interests by
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seeking to influence and/or respond to those proposals.1 This may include
preparing and making available to members template responses to formal
consultations
 Where appropriate set up working parties or authorise the engagement of specialists
to assist in meeting the above objectives
 Approve the text of the quarterly Railway Safety Legislation Update.
This issue, number 76, was due in July 2015 but it was published late in August 2015.
The issue date remains ‘July’ but the updates cover known changes up to mid-August
2015.
1
The position adopted by RSSB will be in the interests of overall safety in the industry but should
not be seen as necessarily representing the views of all individual members.
3
Contents
Foreword
2
How to use this update
2
Railway Safety Legislation Update - Governance
2
Contents
4
Abbreviations and acronyms
6
Related websites
7
Legislation implementation and update status
8
Section 1: Railway-specific legislation
10
Railway Safety Directives (2004/49/EC and 2014/88/EU) – Common
Safety Indicators and Common Safety Targets
10
Common Safety Method on risk evaluation and assessment
16
Common Safety Methods for conformity assessment, monitoring and
supervision
21
The Fourth Railway Package
25
EC Regulation EU/445/2011 (The Entities in Charge of Maintenance
Regulation)
30
Train Driving Licences and Certificates Regulations 2010 and changes
to the Train Driving Licences Directive
34
ERA Joint Network Secretariat/ Quick response procedure (now
known as JNS urgent procedure) NEW
38
Railway Interoperability Directive 2008/57/EC –Technical
Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs) Scope extended and revision
made
40
Section 2: General legislation
44
Electro-Magnetic Fields Directive (2004/40/EC amended by
2008/46/EC)
44
COMAH Regulations 2015 and draft legal guidance
46
HSE’s Review of Approved Codes of Practice
47
Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
48
Exempting from Health and safety law those Self-employed whose
work activities pose no potential risk of harm to others
50
4
The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996.
Guidance on Regulations L64 NEW
51
Design standards for accessible railway stations: a code of practice by
the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland
52
Section 3: Other railway-related consultations
53
Post implementation review of ROGS - Consultation
53
Consultation on the functioning of the internal market for goods
NEW
55
Consultation on the proposal to withdraw the Railway Safety
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1997, Railway Safety
Regulations 1999 and Railway Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments)
Regulations 2001
57
Consultation on EC Regulation 1371/2007 Rail Passengers' Rights and
Obligations
59
System operation – a consultation on making better use of the
railway network
61
Consultation on ORR's health and safety compliance and
enforcement policy statement 2015
62
Section 4: News
63
News
63
Court cases
70
5
Abbreviations and acronyms
ACOP
ACSH
ATOC
CER
CSI
CSM
CST
DfT
DRSG
ECM
EMF
ERA
HSE
HSWA
IAB
ICNIRP
IM
MoJ
MS
NSA
NSR
NRV
NTR
ORR
RE&A
RIDDOR
RISC
ROGS
RSD
RSSB
RU
SPWG
SSRG
TSI
UIC
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Approved Code of Practice
Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work
Association of Train Operating Companies
Community of European Railways
Common Safety Indicator
Common Safety Method
Common Safety Target
Department for Transport
Data Risk Strategy Group
Entity in charge of maintenance
Electro-magnetic fields
European Railway Agency
Health and Safety Executive
Health and Safety at Work Act
Impact Assessment Board
International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection
Infrastructure manager
Ministry of Justice
Member State
National Safety Authority
National Safety Rule
National Reference Value
National Technical Rule
Office of Rail Regulation
Risk Evaluation and Assessment
Reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences Regulations 1995
Railway Interoperability and Safety Committee
Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations
Railway Safety Directive
Rail Safety and Standards Board
Railway undertaking
Safety Performance Working Group
System Safety Risk Group
Technical Specification for Interoperability
International Union of Railways
Related websites
Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC)
www.atoc.org
Business Innovation Skills (BIS)
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-businessinnovation-skills
Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-forcommunities-and-local-government
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-forenvironment-food-rural-affairs
Department for Transport (DfT)
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport
EUR-Lex
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/
European Commission (EC)
http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm
European Railway Agency (ERA) www.era.europa.eu/Pages/Home.aspx
Government News Network
http://www.knowledgeview.co.uk/node/10
Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
www.hse.gov.uk
Law Commission
http://www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission/index.htm
legislation.gov.uk, managed by The National Archives http://www.legislation.gov.uk
Network Rail
www.networkrail.co.uk
Office of Rail and Road (ORR) www.orr.gov.uk
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) www.raib.gov.uk
RSSB
www.rssb.co.uk
Scottish Law Commission
http://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk
International Union of Railways (UIC)
www.uic.org/
Ministry of Justice
https://consult.justice.gov.uk/
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Legislation implementation and update
status
Legislation
Implementation date
Updated in
this issue?
2nd set of CSTs
introduced Apr 2011
New CSIs introduced
July 2014
July 2012
May and August
2015
January 2011 and
June 2013
Yes
Unknown
May 2011
May 2013
Yes
Yes
October 2018
Yes
Not applicable
Yes
July 2015
No
Electro-Magnetic Fields Directive
COMAH Regulations 2015 and draft legal
guidance
October 2013
June 2015
No
Yes
HSE’s Review of Approved Codes of Practice
Construction (Design and Management)
Regulations 2015
Exempting from Health and safety law those
Self-employed whose work activities pose no
potential risk of harm to others
The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals)
Regulations 1996. Guidance on Regulations L64
Not applicable
6 April 2015
Yes
Yes
Unknown
No
Not applicable
Yes
Section 1: Railway-specific legislation
Railway Safety Directives (2004/49/EC and
2014/88/EU) – Common Safety Indicators and
Common Safety Targets
Regulation on the Common Safety Methods
– Risk Assessment and Evaluation
Regulations on the Common Safety Methods
– Conformity Assessment and Monitoring and
Supervision
The Fourth Railway Package
EC Regulation EU/445/2011 (the Entities in
Charge of Maintenance Regulation)
Train Driving Licences and Certificates
Regulations 2010 and changes to the Train
Driving Licences Directive
ERA Joint Network Secretariat/ Quick response
procedure (now known as JNS urgent
procedure)
Scope Extension of the Technical Specification
for Interoperability (TSIs)
Yes
Yes
Section 2: General legislation
8
Design standards for accessible railway stations:
a code of practice by the Department for
Transport and Transport Scotland
Already applies
Yes
Post implementation review of ROGS
Consultation on the functioning of the internal
market for goods
Consultation on the proposal to withdraw the
Railway Safety (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Regulations 1997, Railway Safety Regulations
1999 and Railway Safety (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Regulations 2001
Not applicable
Not applicable
No
Yes
Unknown
Yes
Consultation on EC Regulation 1371/2007 Rail
Passengers' Rights and Obligations
Unknown
No
System operation – a consultation on making
better use of the railway network
13 August – 16
October
Yes
Consultation on ORR's health and safety
compliance and enforcement policy statement
2015
20 August – 25
September
yes
Section 3: Other railway-related consultations
9
Section 1: Railway-specific legislation
Railway Safety Directives (2004/49/EC
and 2014/88/EU) – Common Safety
Indicators and Common Safety Targets
Background
The Railway Safety Directive (2004/49/EC) requires that ERA sets Common Safety
Targets (CST) for each member state. Member states are required to provide Common
Safety Indicators (CSI) data to ERA on an annual basis (as per Annex 1 of the Safety
Directive).
Main provisions
Common Safety Indicators
These are designed to produce agreed methods to calculate safety levels in every
member state so that safety can be monitored during the introduction of all other
European safety measures. As with CSTs, the aim of CSIs is to make sure that levels of
safety remain consistent, or improve during the changes that are being made.
The agreed indicators are collected by the national safety authorities and delivered to
the Agency, who publish them on their web site. This allows member states to show
that they have achieved their CSTs.
The CSIs are primarily used to assess performance against the CSTs and National
Reference Values (NRVs), although additional information is collected, for example on
accident precursors and accident costs.
The regulation implementing the CSI directive in the UK came into force on 26 August
2011.
Annexe 1 of the amended Safety Directive 2014/88/EU was issued on the 11 July 2014 in
the Official Journal of the European Union see: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:JOL_2014_201_R_0005 This contains the list of new CSIs that
are to be used for reporting 2014 CSI data.
ORR submitted the 2013 annual report to ERA and it was published on the ERA website:
http://www.era.europa.eu/Document-Register/Pages/NSA-Annual-Report-2013-UnitedKingdom.aspx The 2014 report is due in October 2015.
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Common Safety Targets
Common Safety Targets (CST) are intended to ensure that safety performance is not
reduced in any Member State, during the period in which changes required by other
directives are being made.
Given the considerable variation in safety performance across the EU at present single
CSTs would not enable individual member states’ performance to be measured so NRV
were introduced. NRVs are set at individual member state level and member state
safety performance will be assessed annually against them. In future the CSTs may be
used to set pan-European targets so as to harmonise safety performance in order to
support further market liberalisation.
NRVs and CSTs are expressed in terms of fatalities and weighted serious injuries (FWSI)
normalised by a measure of exposure, such as train km, and cover six areas: passengers,
workforce, unauthorised persons, level crossing users, others, and whole society.
ERA circulated the 2014 report template to NSAs. There are no significant differences to
the 2013 template. The completed report is due to be submitted to ERA by 30
September 2015.
ERA has published a draft proposal for the revision of the assessment method for CSTs
with the purpose of addressing the weaknesses of the current method and of the
general concept. The expected outcomes are:
 Obtain more reliable and robust results of the assessment early enough in the year
 Integrate the actions foreseen in the CSM with the other RSD requirements (including
NSA annual safety report and National safety plans)
 Introduce tangible safety targets linked with the national safety plans and other
activities that are not subject to the enforcement regime for achieving at least the
NRVs
 Motivate MSs to embrace the method and encourage them to apply it at the national
level
 Include safety targets for the EU given the continuous development of the single
European railway area.
Partly based on the CSTs, ERA is putting together a programme of work to target
‘priority countries’ with the aim of reducing risk levels. The assessment and what action
ERA should take will also be based on evaluation of the transposition of the directives,
findings from the cross audits, NIB assessment and matrix evaluation.
Previous CSI and CST working groups have been merged to form a combined working
party called the Safety Performance Working Party (SPWP). ERA believes that SPWP
has completed the main tasks for which it was set up. They are proposing that future
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work should be taken forward by smaller correspondence groups rather than full
meetings of the working party.
UNECE expert group on level crossing safety
A new working group considering level crossing safety from both a rail and road
perspective has been established under the umbrella of United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE). UIC, NSAs (including ORR) and the ERA is a part of the
group. The group is preparing an action plan for improving level crossing safety uniting
both road and rail infrastructure managers.
The work programme for the group will include:
 A review and analysis of the economic costs of level crossing accidents based on data
provided by countries
 An evaluation and analysis of the safety performance of types of level crossings in
UNECE member states and in selected non-UNECE member states such as Australia,
India, New Zealand and South Africa
 A summary of best practices including education
 A survey of prevailing national legislation and/ or legal arrangement at level crossings
 A survey of technology and technological solutions to improve safety at level
crossings
 Identification of the key causes and possible solutions related to human factors
contributing to unsafe conditions at level crossings
Common occurrence reporting
ERA held a workshop on common occurrence reporting on 25 September 2014.
A common EU approach to occurrence reporting and analysis has been in place in both
aviation and maritime for several years. ERA is exploring whether a similar system
would be possible for railways. Occurrence reporting is seen as taking a system-wide
and data-driven approach to accident prevention.
For aviation, the currently applicable legislation on occurrence reporting is 2003/42/EC,
which calls for employees across the aviation sector to report abnormal events or other
irregular circumstances which if not corrected may lead to an accident. Annex 1 of
2003/42/EC is an agreed list of common occurrences. The European Aviation Safety
Agency (EASA) has a role in analysing the data, identifying trends and ensuring
appropriate action is taken.
ERA has commissioned DNV to gather information on incident reporting systems used in
different member states and what the data is used for. As part of the same
questionnaire, ERA is starting to explore how suicides/ attempted suicides/ accidents to
unauthorised users and trespassers are recorded. The study has been issued in draft for
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review and is due for finalising before ERA organised workshops: Suicide Reporting on
28 October and Occurrence Reporting on 29 October in Valenciennes.
ERA has also held a workshop to begin to understand the current arrangements within
each Member State by which suicides (deliberate intent to harm) are reported; why the
data is collected; the roles and responsibilities of the actors within the Member State
and who/how a determination of intent is made.
ERA is also planning a more detailed questionnaire addressed to all actors maintaining
databases on railway suicidal events.
National Safety Rules - ERA CSM on rule management
While accepting the need for EC or ERA action on national rules, some NSAs questioned
the legal basis for a new CSM, leading ERA to develop an alternative approach to the
problem. ERA will not now develop a CSM and instead will only accept notifications of
common operating rules (Type 4) under the OPE TSI.
National Safety Rules - for dangerous goods
ERA are co-coordinating a group of experts from road, rail, inland waterways and
pipelines to develop a risk evaluation tool that can be used across Europe for the
Transport of Dangerous Goods. This does not have any impact on the duties to comply
with ADR/RID which governs the Regulations for the International Carriage of Dangerous
Goods by Rail/Road. The second of a planned 11 workshops, was held on 28-30 October
2014.
Amendments to the Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011
The Railways (Interoperability) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 [S.I. 2014/3217] were
laid in Parliament on 28 November 2014 and came into force on 1 January 2015. These
Regulations made a minor amendment to the Railways (Interoperability) Regulations
2011 in order to implement Commission Directive 2014/38/EU of 10th March 2014
amending Annex III to the Railway Interoperability Directive 2008/57/EC as far as noise
pollution is concerned.
Essentially the effect of the change is a clarification about how Annex III of the Railway
Interoperability Directive, which deals with the essential requirements, covers
environmental protection and refers to respecting the existing regulations on noise
pollution. Previously it did not specify the regulations it referred to. Commission
Directive 2014/38/EU therefore replaces the existing paragraph 1.4.4 of Annex III
(relating to noise pollution) with a new paragraph which is intended to address this
issue.
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Current status
Common Safety Indicators
ERA had originally wanted NSAs to use the new annex 1 for reporting 2014 CSI data.
NSAs opposed this as it would be difficult to change reporting categories half way
through the year. Instead, ERA has agreed to a voluntary approach for reporting 2014
CSIs using the new annex 1. NSAs will have to report 2015 CSI data using the new
indicators. Therefore data will need to be collected from 1st Jan 2015 against the new
categories.
ERA Railway Indicators
ERA has developed a series of metrics (Railway Indicators) that they are using to
measure performance in delivering ERA-related activity. The railway indicators are
divided into 4 operational activity areas:
 Harmonised safety framework
 Removal of technical barriers
 Single EU train control and communication system
 Simplified access for customers
ORR and RSSB attended an ERA workshop on 4/5 December 2014 where invitees (NSAs,
sector bodies, manufacturers etc) were invited to present their own ideas on Railway
Indicators. ORR and RSSB also met with ERA on 9 February to discuss in more detail
some of the ideas put forward in the workshop.
ORR and RSSB encouraged ERA to adopt indicators that demonstrated one (or more) of
four key outcomes:
 Conditions needed for progress (the development of confidence or trust between
particular stakeholders)
 Implementation of actions
 Reduction of barriers
 Change towards desired outcome that achieves an aim
In particular, ERA was encouraged to use indicators that could show the benefits it, as an
organisation, brings to the railway industry.
ERA has now started collecting data for the pilot phase (year 1) of the Railway
Indicators. The indicators will be reviewed in a years’ time to see how well they are
functioning and what adjustments should be made.
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Date updated
July 2015
15
Common Safety Method on risk
evaluation and assessment
Background
The Railway Safety Directive (2004/49/EC) requires that a series of Common Safety
Methods (CSMs) are developed by the ERA to describe how safety levels, achievement
of safety targets and compliance with other safety requirements are assessed in the
different member states.
Original regulation
The CSM on Risk Evaluation and Assessment (CSM RA) was developed according to
Article 6(3) (a) of Directive 2004/49/EC (Safety Directive). The Regulation has applied
since 1 July 2012 to all significant changes to the railway system – ‘technical’
(engineering), operational and organisational. The Regulation can be found here:
http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:108:0004:0019:EN:PDF
Revised regulation
Following the work of the CSM RA working group and its task forces, in January 2013, a
revised version of the Regulation was adopted by the Railway Interoperability and Safety
Committee (RISC). The revised CSM RA has been in force since 23 May 2013 (meaning it
could be used from that date), and applied from 21 May 2015 (meaning that it must be
used from that date). The principal amendments relate to the recognition and
accreditation of Assessment Bodies. The revised Regulation can be found here:
http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:121:0008:0025:EN:PDF
ERA guidance on accreditation and recognition of assessment bodies is now available on
its website. There are still some outstanding issues to be considered on this guidance.
Some NSAs believe that further competence criteria are need for ABOS.
The guidance supports the UK position that for purely domestic change then a company
may use its own assessment body subject to the usual tests of impartiality,
independence, competence etc, this also includes subcontracting to others where
required. Such bodies need to be “recognised” by the National Safety Authority (the
ORR), this may be done through the Safety Certification process and the management of
change section of the company SMS.
16
The guidance may be obtained from: http://www.era.europa.eu/DocumentRegister/Documents/ERA-GUI-01-2014-SAF%20EN%20V1.0.pdf
ORR guidance will be amended in due course.
Risk acceptance criteria for technical systems
Following the September 2014 workshop in Lille between ERA, sector bodies and NSAs,
ERA published a draft recommendation on the amendment of Regulation 402/2013.
This recommendation represented the view of the majority of the stakeholders and
experts who took part in the validation.
As the harmonised risk acceptance criteria (previously known as CSM RAC) are targets
used at the design stage of technical systems, to avoid confusion, the terminology was
changed to CSM Design Targets (CSM-DT).
Current status
CSM Design Targets
A number of consultation comments were received and concerns were raised by a
number of NSAs.
EBA (NSA DE) held a workshop on 11 February 2015 to try and find areas of agreement
between NSAs on the CSM-DT. The concerns of most Member States and NSAs appear
to have been addressed by ERA. ORR is content with the latest draft, although some of
the definitions will need to be clarified in guidance.
On the 3 March 2015, sector bodies and ERA met to discuss the proposal, and the
changes introduced following consultation. The output of this meeting was the final
version of the proposed legal text which has now been published on ERA’s website
(http://www.era.europa.eu/Document-Register/Pages/Recommendation-of-theEuropean-Railway-Agency-on-the-amendment-of-the-Commission-implementingRegulation-(EU)-No-4022013-on.aspx )
Revisions to the regulations were agreed at RISC on 4 June 2015: a functional failure rate
for all catastrophic train accidents of 10-9; Incidents with the potential for single fatalities
would be 10-7. A table of functions would give examples of each.
CER, UIC and EIM have strongly supported the inclusion of design targets in the RAC-TS.
The sector bodies have also worked together to draft guidance for the RAC-TS, which is
now available as draft ERA guidance.
At RISC, it was agreed that ERA would continue working on the guidance with the sector
and NSAs. A taskforce is expected to be setup.
Details have been circulated by DfT via its newsflash emails of the revisions to the CSM.
17
Article 12- Assessment Bodies for domestic only changes.
Consultation is underway by ERA on the role and competences of assessment bodies.
One issue concerns the potential use of this article, which applies where changes do not
require mutual acceptance, the change is purely domestic and would have no impact on
the wider EU market. The UK position is that we would wish to retain the option of using
internal independent competent assessment bodies recognised by ORR under our SMS
as laid out under safety certification or authorisation.
RAC for transport of dangerous goods
The Commission is holding a series of 11 workshops covering the transport of dangerous
goods by road, rail, inland waterways and pipelines. The workshops were established
following the recommendation of an EC-commissioned study by Det Norske Veritas Ltd
on the development of harmonised RAC for the transport of dangerous goods. ERA is
working with UNECE and OTIF to development a risk based approach to the
management of dangerous goods transport.
The most recent workshop was held on 9-11 June, 2015. DfT represented the UK. No
agreement has yet been reached over whether a stand-alone dangerous goods database
should be developed or whether this can be incorporated into existing databases. The
principle difference of opinion is between those who believed that, since the DG
database is intended to be multimodal (covering road, rail and inland waterway
transport), and on an international level, it has to be stand-alone, whilst others felt this
would be duplication of effort given current domestic arrangements.
UIC, AEGPL and the French member state presented some principles for a potential
central database and suggestions for ‘fields’, although ERA are not ready to develop
anything tangible at this stage.
DV29bis
The ERA has published a helpful update on the new process known as DV29bis which
may be obtained from:
http://www.era.europa.eu/Document-Register/Documents/2014 897 DV 29bis
Key Principles.pdf This concerns the authorisation of structural subsystems and
vehicles under the Railway Interoperability Directive (2008/57/EC). This document
essentially ties up the interoperability management of change requirements with CSM
RA requirements.
Revised Railway Interoperability Directive Annexes V and VI
Directive 2014/106/EU replaces Annexes V and VI of the Railway Interoperability
Directive (2008/57/EC) dealing with the verification of subsystems by notified and
designated bodies and ties in with the updated CSM RA.
18
CSM Risk Evaluation and Assessment - Amended
The CSM for risk evaluation and assessment has been further amended with virtually
immediate effect. The publication of the Commission Implementing regulation (EU)
2015/1136 amending the earlier Implementing regulation (EU) No. 402/2013, often
referred to as the CSM Risk Assessment, sets out harmonised design targets for
technical systems which should help with mutual recognition of those systems across
the EU. The CSM-RA originally contained a single, harmonised, risk acceptance criterion
for catastrophic failures of technical systems which deemed that demonstrable failure
rates of no greater than 10-9 per operating hour were acceptable. This limitation is
addressed by the new Regulation, which came into force on 3 August 2015, through the
extension of risk acceptance criteria to other, non-catastrophic, accidents so that a
wider range of functional failures can be assessed.
It will be followed by revised ORR and ERA guidance which are currently in draft.
The existing ORR guidance on CSM RA to reflect the previous changes to this Regulation
402/2013, and dated March 2015, remains available. That revision includes feedback
from several industry parties, including the ATOC, and has resulted in clearer processes
to identify when the CSM trigger point for significance applies. Additionally information
relating to Assessment Bodies, and their recognition for non-mutually accepted
(domestic only) changes has been expanded. Copies may be downloaded from:
http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/3867/common_safety_method_guidanc
e.pdf
Railway industry position
Roles and Responsibilities of independent Assessment Bodies (ABs).
The following text for ‘domestic changes’ has been agreed in the revised regulation:
‘Where the risk assessment for a significant change is not to be mutually recognised, the
proposer shall appoint an assessment body meeting at least the competency,
independence and impartiality requirements of paragraph 1 of Annex II. The other
requirements of Annex II may be relaxed in agreement with the NSA in a nondiscriminatory way.’
ERA are questioning the need for this article. If it was dispensed with, all projects would
need an accredited or recognised assessment body. Following informal consultation
with industry colleagues, ORR will defend the Article.
RSSB has started a 12 month review of its 6 Railway Guidance Notes covering the CSM
RA. The updated versions will take account of experience in application of CSM RA and
wider industry consultation and this new suite of guidance is due to be ready for
publication towards the end of 2016.
19
Date updated
July 2015
20
Common Safety Methods for conformity
assessment, monitoring and supervision
Background
The Railway Safety Directive (2004/49/EC) requires that a series of Common Safety
Methods (CSMs) are developed by the ERA to describe how safety levels, achievement
of safety targets and compliance with other safety requirements are assessed in the
different member states.
Conformity assessment
The CSMs on Conformity Assessment was developed according to Article 6(3) (b) of the
Safety Directive 2004/49/EC.
The CSM for assessing conformity with the requirements for obtaining railway safety
certificates came into force across Europe on 3 January 2011 and can be found here:
http://www.era.europa.eu/Document-Register/Documents/Regulation_1158_2010CSM_on_Conformity_assessment.pdf
The CSM for assessing conformity with the requirements for obtaining railway safety
authorisations came into force across Europe on 3 January 2011 and can be found here:
http://www.era.europa.eu/Document-Register/Documents/Regulation_1169_2010CSM_on_Conformity_assessment.pdf
Monitoring and supervision
CSMs on Monitoring and Supervision have been developed according to Article 6(3) (c)
of the Safety Directive 2004/49/EC. The Regulations have applied since 7 June 2013.
Regulation 1078/2012 CSM on monitoring can be found here: http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:320:0008:0013:EN:PDF
Regulation 1077/2012 CSM on Supervision can be found here: http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:320:0003:0007:EN:PDF
Main provisions
Conformity assessment
The CSMs on conformity assessment sets out the criteria that National Safety
Authorities (NSAs) will use to assess railway undertakings (RUs) and infrastructure
managers (IMs) safety management systems (SMS) and network specific requirements.
21
In order to operate, a RU and IM must hold a safety certificate or authorisation
respectively. The package will contain the following elements:
 Safety Certification Part A – SMS Assessment Criteria and Procedures
This is a standard European Certificate – designed to be transferable between member
states.
 Safety Certification Part B – Harmonised Requirements, Assessment Criteria and
Procedures
This is a network-specific certificate to be issued to cover the particular requirements
of a member state’s network.
 Safety Authorisation – SMS Assessment Criteria and Procedures, network specific
Harmonised Requirements, Assessment Criteria and Procedures
This is guidance and criteria for the assessment of safety authorisations for
infrastructure managers.
Monitoring and supervision
These CSMs define, as far as they are not yet covered by TSIs, methods to check that the
structural subsystems are operated and maintained in accordance with the essential
requirements.
Monitoring - refers to tasks undertaken by Transport Operators to ensure compliance
with their SMS.
Supervision - refers to activities by NSAs to check Transport Operators
Current status
Revision of the CSMs for conformity assessment and supervision
The EC has issued a mandate to ERA for the revision of the CSM for conformity
assessment and CSM for supervision with the aim of further harmonising approaches
among Member States. The revision of the CSMs for conformity assessment shall be
considered in relation to the introduction of ECMs for freight wagons, CSIs, CSTs, other
common safety methods, technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs) as well as
existing European standards. The revision will also take account of the proposed move
to a single safety certificate.
At a working party on 4 May 2015, ERA annouced its intention to produce a light impact
assessment. UK comments that the assessment should be broken down to relfect the
different workstreams and to provide a better measure of impacts on different groups
(particular ly smaller operators) were accepted.
The introduction of the revised TSI OPE (expected in 2017) will affect what is looked for
in a Part B safety certificate. In light of this, ERA has identified four areas for review –
22
technical compatibility, train planning, competence and monitoring and review – to help
determine what evidence would be needed for assessment without duplicating what is
required for Part A or what is covered by the TSI OPE. ERA is proposing to hold a
workshop on 28 October.
ERA held a workshop with attendees from NSAs and the sector on 30 June 2015. ERA
agreed to adopt ISO HLS. A revised working paper will be sent out by the end of August
for the next meeting on 18 September
It was agreed by participants that there should be a single criterion and the text
proposed by ERA would be reviewed by CER and EMI. ERA also confirmed a desire to
harmonise ECM and CSM CA legal requirements. A proposal on operational planning will
have further discussion with CER/EIM.
EIM, CER and some NSAs stressed their preference for any criteria changes to be
minimal and subject to reported benefits.
The EC has included the recommendation to introduce single safety certification – i.e. no
separation part A/part B application – in the 4th Railway Package.
A report and final recommendation to the Commission are expected by July 2016, this
means that any revision is unlikely to be in force at the earliest in 2017.
ERA does not envisage a fundamental recast of the CSMs, rather an ‘enhancement’
which would link conformity assessment more closely to a duty holder’s SMS. They also
see it as an opportunity to deal with some practical issues about conformity assessment
which were not harmonised or were unresolved. The project has been structured
around four themes:
 Safety certification and authorisation
 Supervision
 Decision making
 Competence management
The first working party meeting was on 12 November 2014.
ERA held a workshop on 9 December 2014 (to coincide with NSA Network) to address
issues around safety certification when an RU subcontracts traction and staff from
another RU.
ERA has a legal view from the EC, that in such circumstances it is not acceptable for the
RU to operate under the safety certificate of the incumbent RU and it needs to have a
safety certificate itself. A number of NSAs have objected to this view as they claim that it
would have a serious impact on railway operations in their country and would not
benefit safety
23
CSM for supervision
ORR is exploring how to meet the provisions of article 9 for the supervision of
RUs operating between the UK and other member states, namely France,
Belgium and the Netherlands. A meeting was held with representatives from FR,
BE and NL NSAs in January 2015 to discuss individual supervision strategies
and how to coordinate supervision activities for cross border operators. The next
step is for ORR to arrange a meeting for the lead inspectors for Eurostar from
each NSA.
CSM for monitoring
ERA has published a guide to the CSM for monitoring regulations
http://www.era.europa.eu/Document-Register/Documents/ERA-GUI-05-2012SAF_Guide%20on%20CSM%20for%20monitoring%20V1.0%20Published.pdf
The guide covers monitoring activities, strategy, priorities and plan(s) that need to be
adapted to the specific activities of every actor who is concerned by the regulations.
RSSB has published safety assurance guidance for industry and this covers the
requirements of the CSM for monitoring: http://www.rssb.co.uk/Library/improvingindustry-performance/2013-leaflet-CSM-monitoring.pdf
Railway industry position
Revision of the CSMs for Conformity Assessment and Supervision
UK industry has expressed the view that ERA’s proposed revision of the CSMs for
Conformity Assessment and Supervision, means that it, the ERA, may need to deal with
the problem of NSAs having different enforcement powers.
Date updated
July 2015
24
The Fourth Railway Package
Background
The European Commission (EC) published proposals for the ‘Fourth Railway Package’ on
31 January 2013. The package is a complex series of proposals, summarised at:
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/kallas/headlines/news/2013/01/fourthrailway-package_en.htm . There are two pillars to the proposals; the Market Pillar
contains legislative proposals to further open the market for domestic passenger
services across Europe and rules concerning the governance of rail infrastructure. The
Technical Pillar contains a revised Interoperability Directive, Safety Directive and
European Railway Agency (ERA) Regulation:
Interoperability Directive
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2013:0030:FIN:EN:PDF
Safety Directive
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2013:0031:FIN:EN:PDF
Agency regulation
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2013:0027:FIN:EN:PDF
Main provisions
The proposals in the Fourth Railway Package focus on four key areas, summarised by the
Vice-President of the EC in charge of transport as:
Standards and approvals that work
The EC wants to cut the administrative costs of rail companies and facilitate the
entrance of new operators into the market. Under the new proposals, ERA will become
a ‘one stop shop’, issuing EU wide vehicle authorisations for placing on the market as
well as EU wide safety certificates for operators. Currently vehicle authorisations and
safety certificates are issued by each Member State. The stated expectation is that
these proposed measures would allow a 20% reduction in the time to market for new
railway undertakings and a 20% reduction in the cost and duration of the authorisation
of rolling stock, leading overall, to a saving for companies of €500m by 2025.
25
Better quality and more choice through allowing new players to run
rail services
To encourage innovation, efficiency and better value for money, the EC is proposing that
domestic passenger railways should be opened up to new entrants and services from
December 2019. Companies will be able to offer domestic rail passenger services across
the EU: either by offering competing commercial services or through bidding for public
service rail contracts, which account for a majority (over 90%) of EU rail journeys and
will become subject to mandatory tendering. The stated expectation is that these
proposals would bring clear benefits to passengers in terms of improved services,
increasing choice that, combined with structural reforms, could by 2035 produce more
than €40 billion of financial benefits for citizens and companies involved and would
allow provision of up to an estimated 16 billion additional passenger-km.
A structure that delivers
To maximise operational efficiencies, the EC is proposing to strengthen infrastructure
managers so that they control all the functions at the heart of the rail network; including
infrastructure investment planning, day-to-day operations, maintenance and
timetabling. Faced with numerous complaints from users, the EC considers that
infrastructure managers must have operational and financial independence from any
other transport operator. This is essential to remove potential conflicts of interest and
give all companies access to tracks in a non-discriminatory way. It is stated that, as a
general rule, the proposal confirms institutional separation as the simplest and most
transparent way to achieve this. Rail undertakings independent of infrastructure
managers will have immediate access to the internal passenger market in 2019.
However, the EC can accept that a vertically integrated or “holding structure” may also
deliver the necessary independence, with strict firewalls to ensure the necessary, legal,
financial and operational separation.
Compliance Verification Clause: To safeguard this independence, in view of the full
passenger market opening in 2019, rail undertakings forming part of a vertically
integrated structure could be prevented from operating in other Member States if they
have not first satisfied the EC that all safeguards are in place to ensure a level playing
field in practice, and that fair competition exists in their home market.
A skilled workforce
A vibrant rail sector depends on a skilled and motivated workforce. Over the next 10
years, rail will face the combined challenges of attracting new staff to replace the third
of its workforce which will retire, while responding to a new and more competitive
environment. Under the EU regulatory framework, Member States will have the
possibility to protect workers by requiring new contractors to take them on when public
service contracts are transferred, going beyond the general EU requirements on
transfers of undertakings.
26
Current status
Fourth Railway Package considerations
Member States reached “political agreement” in 2014 on changes to the technical pillar.
Trilogue discussions between the European Commission, European Council and
European Parliament have been taking place in 2015.
An informal agreement of the technical pillar was agreed at a TRAN vote in July. A
closure of the first reading will take place during October 2015, and formal endorsement
by the European Parliament is expected sometime in the autumn.
The European Parliament has now in principle accepted the ‘choice model’, which allows
a duty holder to choose between ERA and their NSA for the issuing of safety certificates
and vehicle authorisations when they apply in only one country. The choice model was
strongly supported by member states. For cross-border services, applications for safety
certification and EU-wide authorisation of vehicles will be submitted to ERA.
There will be a ‘One Stop Shop’ with all applications for safety certificates or vehicle
authorisations will be sent initially to ERA.
The extension of responsibility to other actors in the railway system (including loaders
and fillers) has now been resolved: The relevant article 4(4) states:
Without prejudice to the responsibilities of railway undertakings and infrastructure
managers referred to in paragraph 3, entities in charge of maintenance and all other
actors having a potential impact on the safe operation of the Union rail system, including
manufacturers, maintenance suppliers, keepers, service providers, contracting
authorities, carriers, consignors, consignees, loaders, unloaders, fillers and unfillers,
shall:
(a) implement the necessary risk control measures, where appropriate in cooperation with
other actors;
(b) ensure that subsystems, accessories, equipment and services supplied by them
comply with specified requirements and conditions for use so that they can be safely
operated by the railway undertaking and/or the infrastructure manager concerned.”
In other member states the above extension of responsibility to others is seen as
beneficial for clarifying responsibilities. In the UK the existing contractual system largely
deals with such concerns.
To ensure that the new responsibilities work effectively, cooperation agreements will be
needed between NSAs and ERA. A subgroup of NSA Network, chaired by UK, will
develop proposals for these agreements.
Entry into force is currently foreseen for 1 January 2016 (assuming the final approvals
are gained from the EP plenary and Council. The transition period (time for
27
implementation) is 3 years from 1 January 2016, plus there is one additional year for
Member States who have difficulty implementing them. So effectively, by 1st January
2019 most Member States should have implemented, latest is 1st January 2020.
The Commission task force on single safety certificates started work on 10 June 2014,
with the aim of having the necessary requirements in place for the single safety
certificate by 2017 (the earliest date this could happen under 4th Railway Package). The
next meeting of the taskforce will be held on 7 October 2015. It is possible that its work
will be extended to cover all technical pillar issues.
ERA has considered five possible scenarios for its work on issuing single safety
certificates. The preferred option would mean ERA coordinates the SMS assessment but
involves nominees from a pool of experts (who can be from NSAs or external experts).
An impact assessment on this option will be carried out by ERA.
It is clear that the original implementation dates of 2017 for single certification etc are
unlikely to be realised, the revised timescales are to operate in “shadow mode” in 2018
with implementation of the Directive (through national Regulations) by 2019.
This (4th Rail Package) will obviously then have an impact on both CSM Conformity
Assessment and CSM Supervision, work is being undertaken to ensure that there will be
adequate collaborative and cooperative process in place between the ERA and the NSAs
once the Directives, and the new European Rail Agency Regulation are in force.
Standards and approvals that work
ERA submitted a recommendation to the EC seeking to increase the transparency of the
process for notification of NSRs in different Member States. The recommendation
included a proposal to establish a taskforce to support this work and prepare good
practice guidance. The main recommendations in the report, which have been
integrated into the 4th Railway Package, were:
 Merge NSRs and NTRs into ‘national rules’
 Streamline requirements for notification in NOTIF-IT and publication
 Remaining rules apply to ‘exceptions’ in European law
 NSRs (in current definition) will be: same operating rules, as allowed by OPE TSI and
RID; risk acceptance criteria; and criteria for significant change
The EC see NSRs as a barrier to entry into the market. Extension of EU legislation (eg,
train driver certification, the CSMs for Conformity Assessment and Risk Assessment, and
the TSI OPE) has closed many gaps, therefore making many NSRs and types of NSRs
redundant. The NSR task force developed a draft rule management tool to help
Member States/NSAs work through the significant task of updating, reclassifying and
withdrawing NSRs to reflect these developments. The rule management tool will be
further developed/ applied by the new ERA taskforce. ERA would like NSAs (or other
28
competent authorities) to apply this tool as soon as possible to clean up the rules, and
then on an annual basis.
Railway industry position
The industry has expressed views to the EC, particularly on the avoidance of duplication
of approvals processes and increased costs as currently the ORR do not charge for
assessment whereas the ERA will be charging, fees will have to be apportioned between
the ERA and the NSAs.
ERA reinterpreted the final recommendation to only include NSRs needed for the OPE
TSI and ORR and some other NSAs have asked ERA to consider including rules for safety
critical work (Type 6).
The development of the rule management tool is an opportunity for UK railway (ORR,
DfT and RSSB) to examine the GB NSRs to ensure they are transparent and that the right
rules appear on the NOTIF-IT database.
Date updated
July 2015
29
EC Regulation EU/445/2011 (The Entities
in Charge of Maintenance Regulation)
Background
Prompted by the incidents as Viareggio and Bressanone, ERA established a task force to
look at the management of contractors which reports back to the cooperation of
certifying bodies’ task force.
The Entities in Charge of Maintenance Regulation (ECM) was published in the Official
Journal of the European Union on 11 May 2011. As a result, certifying bodies have
offered certification since May 2012 and freight ECMs will be required to be certified by
2013.
The first amendment to ROGS, which includes the requirement for all vehicles registered
in the NVR to be assigned to an ECM came into force on 26 August 2011. The second
amendment came into force on 21 May 2013 and sets out the requirements for the
certification of freight ECMs, and enables the supervision by ORR.
Main provision
An Entity in Charge of Maintenance has to be assigned to all vehicles and registered as
such in the national vehicle register (NVR). For domestic vehicles, this was done by 9
November 2010. (All international vehicles should have been entered on the NVR by 9
November 2009). The certification scheme currently only applies to freight wagons.
The EC has proposed extending certification to cover all rail vehicles as part the 4th
Railway Package to an earlier timetable than envisaged in the current directive, possibly
by the end of 2016. The draft also currently includes proposals for mandatory
certification of maintenance workshops.
Following an internal review ORR will continue as a certifying body for ECMs for freight
wagons. This position will be reviewed again in 2016.
UKAS has set up an accreditation scheme for the UK so other certifying bodies can be
accredited.
Current status
According to ERA, as of June 2014, of 659,988 registered wagons in the EU, only 2% have
no allocated ECM and 0.25% have an uncertified ECM.
30
There are 290 ECMs across the EU, and so far none has had a certificate revoked due to
non-compliance. ERA conducted a survey of the 210 Certification Bodies in the EU on
implementation of the ECM regulations in August 2014.
The report from this survey has now been circulated by ERA. The report was positive
about the benefits of the ECM scheme and supported an extension to cover passenger
vehicles. ERA received responses from a range of stakeholders involved in the ECM
process (RUs, ECMs, NSAs, maintenance workshops etc.) although the views of
particular groups were not reflected in the results.
The main conclusions of the survey were:
 The main strengths of ECM certification:
 Harmonisation of processes
 Clearer definition of responsibilities
 Common language between RUs and their partners and suppliers
 Reduction of efforts for supplier evaluation
 Support risk management
 The main weaknesses of ECM certification:
 No common interpretation of the ECM legal framework between MS
 No procedures related to the management of relations between ECMs and
manufacturers (return on experience)
 Additional administrative burden
It is likely that in the long-term benefits covers costs
128 respondents were in favour with against 30
ERA actions
ERA put together a group of NSAs (as a sub-group of NSA Network) to consider the
Article 9 requirements for ECMs and the meeting was held on 8 October 2014. A
common procedure is required for implementing Art 9 but it was recognised NSAs have
different legal bases following transposition of revisions to the Safety Directive Art 14
and implementation of the ECM regulation 445/2011. Some NSAs have no powers to
take measures against ECMs and only have powers against RUs and IMs. Others can act
against ECMs directly and / or will contact Keepers.
If a defect is spotted in a marshalling yard or in a workshop and there is no RU, this
could present difficulties for those NSAs who cannot place requirements on ECMs.
ERA circulated a questionnaire widely to many different stakeholders including NSAs,
certifying bodies, ECMs, keepers and manufacturers. ORR responded to this ERA ex-post
31
evaluation questionnaire regarding the implementation of the ECM legislation. An
overview of responses was given at RISC on 6 November 2014.
The ERA is undertaking an assessment of Scope Extension which will consider the
following three problem areas:
 For RUs procuring maintenance services externally the search and selection of a
suitable ECM may be cumbersome
 There may be difficulties in RUs ensuring that the maintenance provided externally is
appropriate for the control of risks and for safe operation
 For (external) ECMs and maintenance workshops there could be requests for specific
customer certification or for a single harmonised certificate
Two options are then being considered:
Option 1 - Scope extension to all vehicles (incl. passenger rolling stock) as a mandatory
certification scheme
Option 2 - Scope extension to all vehicles (incl. passenger rolling stock) as a voluntary
certification scheme
On 8 July 2015 the ERA published guidance:
Guide for the application of the Art 14 (a) of the Safety Directive and Commission
Regulation (EU) No 445/2011 on a system of certification of entities in charge of
maintenance for freight wagons
This guide provides information on the application of the "Commission Regulation (EU)
No 445/2011 of 10 May 2011 on a system of certification of entities in charge of
maintenance for freight wagons as referred to in Article 14(a) of the Safety
Directive. The guide needs to be read and used only as a non-binding informative
document and to help the different stakeholders with the application of the ECM
Regulation. It should be used in conjunction with the ECM Regulation to facilitate its
application but it does not replace it. The version 2.0 contains a new item (§9.7 related
to article 9 of the regulation 445/2011).
Please use the following link for access to the document:
http://www.era.europa.eu/Document-Register/Pages/Reg-445-2011-Guide.aspx
Railway industry position
UK has stressed that ERA need to demonstrate the benefits of any extension of scope to
other vehicles. Any changes must also be supported by a proper impact assessment. This
point was accepted by ERA at RISC on 6 November 2014.
32
A mandate was tabled at RISC on 4 June 2015 on the possible extension of scope. The
UK stated its opposition to this proposal, stressing a lack of market or safety problems
needing a solution, in addition to the unnecessary layer of further regulation. In
addition, any changes should be supported by a proper impact assessment. Germany
offered a compromise text that allowed ERA to make a positive or negative
recommendation rather than the original draft mandate that would have obliged ERA to
extend the scheme. A number of NSAs wanted mandatory certification extended to all
vehicles.
Date updated
July 2015
33
Train Driving Licences and Certificates
Regulations 2010 and changes to the
Train Driving Licences Directive
Background
The Train Driving Licences and Certificates Regulations 2010 (TDLCR)
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/724/contents/made sets out the legal
requirements of the licensing and certification system for train drivers in Great Britain.
This brings into force the requirements of the Train Driving Licences Directive
2007/59/EC (TDL).
http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:315:0051:0078:EN:PDF)
Main provisions
Any new driver must have a train driver licence and certificate to drive on the mainline
railway.
Existing drivers will need a train driver licence and certificate to drive by 29 October
2018.
Doctors, psychometric assessors and training and examination centres who assess new
train drivers must be recognised by ORR.
Current status
Extending requirements
As part of the 4th Railway Package the EC is looking into extending measures to cover
train crews performing safety-critical tasks. The EC is proposing to ask ERA to identify
common safety-critical tasks for other train crew and consider in its analysis of NSR’s a
specific chapter on the national binding rules, related to other crew members and to
what extent they go beyond their scope. The EC believes that its proposals will reinforce
the safety performance as well as supporting the mobility of its workers.
The proposed changes to the TDL directive regarding general professional knowledge,
medical and licence requirements at the January 2014 RISC were accepted. The new
section 8 paragraph 2 final sentence in Annex VI has been amended to read: ‘Drivers
must be able to communicate orally and in writing according to level B1 of the Common
European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) established by the Council of
34
Europe’. The requirement for written communication is additional to the existing
requirements. The amendments were published by the Commission on 24 June 2014.
ORR carried out an informal, targeted consultation of stakeholders on the minor
amendments to the Train Driver Licences and Certificates Regulations 2010 from 18
February to 10 March 2015.
The amendments:
 Remove an option for existing drivers to continue to drive if they lose the sight in one
eye and suitable adaptations could be made
 Set out more detailed requirements for general professional knowledge
 Introduce a new standard for language tests where drivers have to communicate on
safety critical issues
The consultation sought views from railway undertakings and trade unions on:
 The impact the change to the vision requirements will have on existing drivers when
they have a new medical assessment after 1 January 2016.
 Whether the more detailed requirements for general professional knowledge will
require additional training and assessment for train drivers
 Whether the new language standard, which now explicitly requires that reading and
writing should be tested, will require additional training and assessment for new
drivers learning a second language and existing drivers when their language skills are
retested. (Eurostar and Trade Unions only)
 Whether the amendments will result in any additional costs to comply with the
Regulations
Seven responses were received and the views ranged from no to minimal impact caused
by these amendments. It is expected that the amending regulations will be laid before
Parliament in June.
ERA Report on the Introduction of Smartcards
The feasibility and cost benefits for the introduction of ‘smartcards’ as part of driver
licensing have been investigated in this ERA sponsored research. The conclusion is that
there are potential benefits if the cards have wider use than just recording the licence
and certification, however, at present the costs of developing an EU wide system
outweigh the benefits. The report may be downloaded from:
http://www.era.europa.eu/Document-Register/Documents/229_2012-1214_Report_on_smartcards-final.pdf
Driver registers
A working group is considering the potential interoperability of registers between
Member States. UK (and other NSA) has pressed ERA for a clear business case before
35
any Europe-wide database is proposed. ERA has recommend adoption of the EC internal
market information system (IMI). The IMI is a multilingual system designed to facilitate
communication between national and local government organisations. It is being used
by NSAs to exchange a predefined set of information on train drivers in a secure way
that would automatically be translated into the appropriate language. It can also create
alerts, a tracking process and set deadlines for responses. It has also been suggested
that information on Doctors and other assessors could be exchanged through the
system.
It is expected ERA will deliver a recommendation for further changes to the Directive
and supporting legislation by the end of 2015. Any changes to the Directive are unlikely
before 2017. ERA is establishing a Task Force to discuss and agree the proposed
changes and the first meeting took place on 3 December 2014. The EC mandate to ERA
has asked them to prepare proposals in the following areas:
 Article 3: Definitions. Some terms (such as historical trains, cross-border drivers and
native language) are not properly defined. Different terms were also used for the
same process (including examinations, checks and assessments) and which may
need to just one term
 Article 4: Community certification model. Article 4(2) does not cover all cases where
an exemption would be needed and uses unconventional terminology about a
second driver. The need to inform the infrastructure manager where a second
driver was needed for route knowledge was not appropriate. 4(3) (a) does not
clearly define operations covered under category A of the certificate and might
better to do this than refer to rolling stock.
New draft definition proposals for categories of drivers circulated on 4 June 2015:
these concern category A shunting movements in a defined restricted area and
category B train driving on the open network.
 Article 11(1): Education requirements were seen by most NSA as unhelpful clarification or deletion will be considered by ERA. For Article 11(2) and (3) most
participants want common criteria to be developed for the recognition of doctors
and psychologists
 Article 16: The need for periodic checks for psychometric assessments was unclear as
no timescales were included and it is not apparent who should do this check. This
might be deleted altogether by ERA or else further clarified
ERA have suggested it should be left to NSAs to decide if they want to have periodic
psychometric assessments
 Article 17: It was not clear why it was necessary to inform the NSA when a driver
ceases work as the licence can remain valid
 Article 23(5): Recognition of language schools. Most NSA felt they did not have the
expertise to do this and should not be required to do so
36
 Annex II: Medical requirements. ORR raised concerns over vision requirements and
there may be some changes made. The working group discussed ERA needing
expert advice to enable to keep up to date with changes in medical practice. ERA
made a proposal to the EC for changes in a paper at the January RISC meeting, which
were accepted
 Annex IV: General professional knowledge. Seen as too vague and needs to be
replaced by something more precise
 Train driver certificate. Not clear what terms to use for rolling stock and
infrastructure on the certificate and this needed to be clarified in the EC decision
17/2010. The EC Regulation on the format of the certificate was too prescriptive
and out-dated requiring to be a paper copy
 National Licence Register. The EC decision needed clarification on how medical
assessment information is provided to NSAs and what information should be stored
by the employer (particularly if more than one employer is involved) should the NSA
want to check what the driver is doing for whom

Language Requirements. At the 4 June RISC meeting, Cion (European Commission)
proposed an amendment to TDD Annex VI 8.1 and new paragraph 2 allowing RUs to
derogate from second language requirements subject to conditions: limited
operation to border or first station; NSA where border station is located agrees to a
derogation; and RU/IM can demonstrate arrangements for ensuring communication.
This was supported by the UK and many other NSAs.
Date updated
July 2015
37
ERA Joint Network Secretariat/ Quick
response procedure (now known as JNS
urgent procedure) NEW
Background
ERA’s Safety Unit has established the Joint Network Secretariat (JNS) to consider issues
concerning the safety regulatory framework and to find solutions to problems preferably
using the existing structure of task forces, working groups and networks within ERA.
ERA established the quick response task force to develop a standard process for dealing
with incidents that impact on more than one EU member state
Main provisions
A proposal for a topic to be discussed at the JNS can be made by ERA, the EC or a
member of an organisation that is represented at either NSA or sector networks. No
topic can be rejected without discussion.
If the proposer suggests that the JNS urgent procedure should be activated, the panel will
consider requests for the procedure to be activated and make a decision within five
working days.
All of the following conditions must be fulfilled before the JNS urgent procedure can be
activated:
 more than one Member State involved
 need for an urgent and harmonised reaction at the EU level.
 correct implementation of EU law is not sufficient to solve the reported issue
 enough information and knowledge available to define an action plan
 likely that the proposed actions will mitigate or avoid the considered risk within a
short period of time
If the panel accepts the request, and the intention is that the procedure should only be
launched when really necessary, a task force is set up to consider the issue, generally
consisting of experts in the relevant field.
38
Current status
ERA will now test the JNS urgent procedure (using a test case on braking distance of
brake blocks). Switzerland acted as a test case on braking performance in relation to K
and LL blocks in case of overloading of freight trains, methods for calculation of braking
distance and risk assessment. The task force to consider the issues met on 29 May 2015.
It consisted of 6 members: 3 NSAs (including Switzerland) and 3 from GRB.
Panel advice on the test case was completed by 6 July. The panel outlined the following
actions and recommendations:
 UIC leaflet 541-1 to be addressed to ERA and taken into consideration for the next TSI
revision. It is believed the leaflet would eliminate uncertainties about thermal
stability and braking performance in strong downhill gradients. It would also allow
reliable determination of braking performance
 Decrease of lamda parameter
 Study deployment of trackside detectors on European Network. This will contribute
towards risk mitigation through elimination. A proposition to ERA should be made
for financial support of the project.
 Possible UIC study on braking performance deficiency on unaccompanied combined
transport train (analysis to be considered). Not yet decided within UIC whether this
project will be carried out.
Recommendations should be addressed to NSA (approval procedures) before end of
2015.
Date updated
July 2015
39
Railway Interoperability Directive
2008/57/EC –Technical Specifications for
Interoperability (TSIs) Scope extended
and revision made
Background
The Railway Interoperability Directive (2008/57/EC) requires the production of a suite of
Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs). A TSI is an Annexe to a Decision or
Regulation made by the European Commission (EC) and will come into force six months
after the Decision or Regulation is made.
Decisions and Regulations are published in the Official Journal of the European Union,
which can be found here - http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en
Alternatively DfT produce a catalogue detailing the current status of all TSI applicable in
GB – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rail-interoperability-tsi-catalogue
TSIs define the mandatory, technical and operational standards and expected
performance levels which must be met in order to satisfy the ‘essential requirements’
defined in the Directive and to ensure the ‘interoperability’ of the European railway
system. The ‘Essential requirements’ can be summarised as safety, technical
compatibility, reliability, health, environmental protection and accessibility.
The Railway (Interoperability) Regulations 2011 which transposed the Railway
Interoperability Directive, mandate compliance with TSIs and relevant National
Technical Rules (NTRs) on organisations (Project Entities) involved in the GB mainline
railway system. For the GB mainline railway system, the NTRs to be applied are the
contained in Railway Group Standards (RGSs) which are developed by the GB rail
industry with the support of RSSB.
You must comply with TSIs and relevant NTRs if you are building new railway subsystems or carrying out a major upgrade or renewal of an existing railway sub-system.
Replacement of parts of a sub-system on a like-for-like basis, for example replacing track
with track of a similar specification, does not trigger a legal obligation to comply with
TSIs. Advice about whether a specific project must comply with TSIs and NTRs can be
obtained from the DfT.
40
Main provisions
Original scope
TSIs only applied to subsystems on the ‘Trans-European network’ (TEN), and in some
cases the TSIs were further split to cover either High Speed or Conventional Speed
systems. For the parts of the railway system not part of TEN (the majority of the
European Railway network) NTRs applied.
Revised scope
From 1 January 2015 (1 July 2015 for the Control Command and Signalling TSI) the scope
of TSIs has been extended to cover the entire European Railway System (not just TEN)
that fall under the scope of the Railway Interoperability Directive (2008/57/EC) and
Railway Safety Directive (2004/49/EC). This means the TSIs apply to whole of the GB
mainline railway system. The scope of mainline railway system can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/scope-of-rail-interoperability/--539035
This means that the only NTRs which fulfil the following conditions should be mandated
on projects completed after these dates:
 Specific Cases – Outlined in Chapter 7 of each TSI
 Open Points (where A TSI is not sufficient) – An NTR can provide a solution
 To ensure technical compatibility with the legacy rail system where it is not designed
and built to TSIs
Current status
National Technical Rules
Where NTRs do not fall in the defined cases above, they should no longer be mandatory
for new projects under the scope of the Railway Interoperability Directive and should
subsequently be withdrawn as mandatory rules for new projects. The Chapter 7 of the
TSIs defines the implementation of the new TSIs. In general the TSIs are not
retrospectively applied and therefore do not apply to subsystems already authorised or
projects already underway prior to 2015.
New TSIs
On January 1 2015, seven TSIs came into force, they are:
Infrastructure TSI - European Commission Regulation (EU) No 1299/2014
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R1299&from=EN
Persons with Reduced Mobility TSI - European Commission Regulation (EU) No
1300/2014
41
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R1300&from=EN
Energy TSI - European Commission Regulation (EU) No 1301/2014
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R1301&from=EN
Locomotives and passenger rolling stock TSI - European Commission Regulation (EU) No
1302/2014
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R1302&from=EN
Safety in railway tunnels TSI - European Commission Regulation (EU) No 1303/2014
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R1303&from=EN
Noise TSI - European Commission Regulation (EU) No 1304/2014
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R1304&from=EN
Telematics applications for freight TSI - European Commission Regulation (EU) No
1305/2014
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R1305&from=EN
The TSIs mentioned above are now published as regulations, and not (as previously)
decisions, therefore they do not require transposition into UK law and are directly
applicable.
The amended Control Command and Signalling TSI Decision was published on 5 January
2015, and entered into force on 1 July 2015
Control Command and Signalling TSI - European Commission Decision (EU) 2015/14
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legalcontent/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:JOL_2015_003_R_0009&from=EN
Railway industry position
The GB rail industry and RSSB, together with the ORR and DfT, are working together to
clarify which requirements or NTRs in RGSs should remain; which should be updated to
reflect the new TSIs; and where requirements should be withdrawn as they now
superseded by the TSIs.
More information on TSI can be found here: http://www.rssb.co.uk/standards-and-therail-industry/technical-specifications-for-interoperability
More information on NTRs can be found here: http://www.rssb.co.uk/standards-andthe-rail-industry/technical-specifications-for-interoperability/national-technical-rules
For more information you can contact Vaibhav.Puri@rssb.co.uk
42
Date updated
January 2015
43
Section 2: General legislation
Electro-Magnetic Fields Directive
(2004/40/EC amended by 2008/46/EC)
Background
The third Directive in the suite of physical agents’ Directives, 2013/35/EU on the
minimum health and safety requirements, regarding the exposure of workers to the
risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields) is available here:
http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:179:0001:0021:EN:PDF
Main provisions
Provisions cover risk assessments; control of exposure (with laid down action values and
exposure limit values); health surveillance and information, instruction and training.
The Directive addresses the protection of workers exposed to electromagnetic fields and
the carrying out of effective and efficient risk assessments, proportional to the situation
encountered at the workplace.
It also defines a protection system that graduates the level of risk in a simple and easily
understandable way, and commits the European Commission to produce practical
guidelines to assist employers in meeting their obligations under the Directive. The
Directive contains technical annexes setting out the exposure limit values. Member
States have the option of maintaining or adopting more favourable provisions for the
protection of workers, in particular the fixing of lower values for the ‘action levels’ or the
‘exposure limit values’ for electromagnetic fields.
Current status
Member states have been given until 1 July 2016 to transpose the Directive into national
law, although no program is currently available from HSE for UK implementation. A
significant number of requirements could be seen as already incorporated into UK law
through the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the final
structure of any new legislation is still being determined.
44
The EU will publish a Practical Guide early in 2016, written under contract by Public
Health England, and HSE are working with stakeholders to develop some practical
guidance to support UK implementation.
Railway industry position
RSSB and TfL representatives will continue to participate in the transposition process,
development of UK guidance and attend industry meetings to put the railway’s position
that the legislation should be proportionate to the risk.
The Vehicle Train Energy System Interface Committee has commissioned research
project T1051 Investigation into the effects of applying the Physical Agents (EMF)
Directive in the UK railway system. Reporting in December, a key recommendation was
the development of rail specific guidance.
For further information please contact the project technical lead, David Knights:
david.knights@rssb.co.uk
Other information
An RSSB report into the implications of the original Directive is available here:
http://www.sparkrail.org/Lists/Records/DispForm.aspx?ID=9662
Date updated
January 2015
45
COMAH Regulations 2015 and draft legal
guidance
Background
The COMAH Regulations 2015 came into force on 1 June 2015; the Regulations can be
found at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/483/contents/made
Main provisions
The competent authority will provide a web-based template that operators will be
required to complete by selecting statements from a series of lists. This simplifies the
task for operators and provides a consistent format to the public, which includes
railways passing through or past COMAH sites.
Current status
This new guidance on the COMAH Regulations 2015 (L111, Third edition) has applied
since 1 June 2015: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l111.pdf
This guidance is for anyone who has duties under the COMAH Regulations 2015,
particularly operators of establishments, and also others such as local authorities and
emergency planners. The aim of the Regulations is to prevent and mitigate the effects
on people and the environment of major accidents involving dangerous substances. This
guidance on the COMAH Regulations 2015 gives advice on the scope of the Regulations
and the duties imposed by them.
Date updated
July 2015
46
HSE’s Review of Approved Codes of
Practice
Background
On 28 November 2011 Professor Ragnar Löfstedt published his independent review of
health and safety legislation ‘Reclaiming health and safety for all’. The review reported
that overall a wide range of stakeholders supported the principles of ACOPs; however, it
was felt by many that there was room for improvement.
In his report Professor Löfstedt made the following recommendation: ‘HSE should
review all its ACOPs.’ The Government accepted this recommendation and asked HSE to
review its 52 ACOPs.
Main provisions
HSE completed the first phase of its review of ACoPs in 2012. Thirty six individual ACoP
reviews were completed by the end of 2014.
Several of relevance to the railway sector were reissued in late 2014:
 Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. Approved Code of Practice
and guidance http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l113.pdf
 Confined Spaces Regulations 1997. Approved Code of Practice, Regulations and
guidance http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l101.pdf
 Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000. Approved Code of Practice and guidance
on Regulations http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l122.pdf
Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 (as amended) and
Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 (as amended).
Approved Codes of Practice and guidance
Some remaining ACoPs are associated with changes to legislation and are being
reviewed in accordance with timescales for the legislative change, such as L144
Managing Health and Safety in Construction. See later section on the changes to
Construction Design and Management Regulations.
Date updated
April 2015
47
Construction (Design and Management)
Regulations 2015
Background
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) came into
force on 6 April 2015, replacing CDM 2007.
HSE has published Legal Series guidance
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l153.pdf
that supports CDM 2015 and explains it in more detail. HSE will seek views later in 2015
on whether to replace this guidance with an Approved Code of Practice, which many in
the industry indicated they would prefer in the 2014 public consultation
http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd261.htm
Main provisions
The legal series guidance describes:
 The law that applies to the whole construction process on all construction projects,
from concept to completion
 What each duty holder must or should do to comply with the law to ensure projects
are carried out in a way that secures health and safety
Current status
CDM 2015 is subject to certain transitional provisions which apply to construction
projects that start before the Regulations come into force and continue beyond that
date:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm/regulation-changes.htm
The key changes in the new CDM Regulations which are of relevance to the railway
industry are:
 Principal designer. The replacement of the CDM co-ordinator role (under CDM 2007)
by principal designer. This means that the responsibility for coordination of the preconstruction phase will rest with an existing member of the design team.
 Client. The new Regulations recognise the influence and importance of the client as
the head of the supply chain and they are best placed to set standards throughout a
project.
48
 Competence. This will be split into its component parts of skills, knowledge, training
and experience, and - if it relates to an organisation - organisational capability. This
will provide clarity and help the industry to both assess and demonstrate that
construction project teams have the right attributes to deliver a healthy and safe
project.
The technical standards set out in Part 4 of the new Regulations remain essentially
unchanged from those in guidance related to CDM 2007.
The HSE have received many enquires on CDM 2015 and will be updating their
webpages with further information in due course.
Other information
Paul Haxell, chair of the IOSH Construction Group said: ‘There are some subtle yet very
significant changes in the responsibilities of the duty holders which need to be carefully
considered.
‘For example, the strengthening of the client responsibilities and the explicit
requirement for the PC to consult with the workforce are every bit as important as the
plan, manage and monitor responsibility placed on the Principal Designer during the preconstruction phase.
‘It is the latter which is receiving a lot of attention in the press. In my opinion, HSE and
CONIAC have got it about right, given the huge variation in breadth which exists in the
construction industry.
‘There is a great new opportunity for the OSH professional to provide pragmatic advice
to support implementation of the new regulations and not be seen to oversell
professional services. The IOSH Construction Group is planning to plan a full part in this
endeavour.’
Date updated
July 2015
49
Exempting from Health and safety law
those Self-employed whose work
activities pose no potential risk of harm
to others
Background
The necessary legislative change to the Health and safety at Work Act was included in
the Deregulation Act 2015. Following further consultation by HSE on the proposed
regulations to implement the change, the Act amends Section 3(2) of the Health and
safety at Work etc Act 1974 such that only those self-employed persons conducting
work activities prescribed by the secretary of State in Regulations will continue to have
duties, all others being exempt. The prescription of self-employed undertakings may be
one of:
A description based on the type of activities carried out by the undertaking or on other
features of the undertaking, such as its involvement with a specific hazard
A general description covering any undertaking the conduct of which may expose others
to risks to their health or safety
HSE intends to make Regulations to introduce the prescribed list of activities at the
earliest opportunity and will publish clear guidance for businesses on how the
exemption will apply.
Railway industry position
ORR has argued that railways should be included as a prescribed activity given the
hazards involved in for self-employed workers engaged on safety critical work or other
activities across the mainline railway and London Underground networks.
Date updated
April 2015
50
The Health and Safety (Safety Signs and
Signals) Regulations 1996. Guidance on
Regulations L64 NEW
Background
The Regulations enact in UK law an EU Directive designed to harmonise signs across the
EU so that signs across the member states will have the same meaning whichever
country they are used in.
Current status
The guidance for this set of Regulations has been updated. Details of BS EN ISO 7010 are
also included in the guidance.
This edition brings the document up to date with regulatory and other changes,
including those relating to the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Chemicals
(Amendments to Secondary Legislation) Regulations 2015. The version of the
Regulations included in the document has been amended to reflect these changes, it
may be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l64.pdf
Date updated
July 2015
51
Design standards for accessible railway
stations: a code of practice by the
Department for Transport and Transport
Scotland
Background
This updated code replaces all previous versions, including ‘Accessible train station
design for disabled passengers: a code of practice’. This latest revision incorporates
modifications to the Commission Regulation (EU) No 1300/2014
Main provisions
This code will help train operators and anybody else carrying out rail infrastructure
improvements to design more accessible trains and stations. It has been published to
ensure that any infrastructure work at stations makes railway travel easier for disabled
passengers and may be downloaded from
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/41563
8/design-standards-accessible-stations.pdf
The updated code replaces all previous versions, including ‘Accessible train station
design for disabled passengers: a code of practice’ and incorporates modifications to the
Commission Regulation (EU) No 1300/2014.
Date updated
July 2015
52
Section 3: Other railway-related
consultations
Post implementation review of ROGS Consultation
Background
Regulation 34A of the Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety)
Regulations 2006 (as amended) (ROGS) requires that by 26 August 2016 (and every five
years thereafter) the Secretary of State:
 Carries out a post implementation review of ROGS
 Sets out the conclusions of the review in a report
 Publishes the report
Current status
The Office of Rail and Road is carrying out the post-implementation review on behalf of
the Secretary of State and will draw conclusions and make any recommendations for
change if required. This is the first time that ORR will do this in respect of any health and
safety legislation. The process will be repeated (in relation to ROGS) every five years
from 26 August 2016 or from the date the initial review report is published (whichever is
earlier) if the results of the review indicate that ROGS continue in force.
The purpose of this consultation, therefore, is to seek feedback from stakeholders on
their views and experience of ROGS. Your views are critical to providing a sound
evidence base for ORR to assess the effectiveness (or otherwise) of ROGS after they
have been in force and operational for a nine years and address:
 the extent to which the Regulations are achieving their intended effects;
 whether there have been any unintended effects; and
 how well they are working and the reasons why.
From this consultation ORR hopes to collect sufficient evidence to establish whether,
and to what extent, ROGS:
 have achieved their original objectives;
 have objectives which are still valid;
 are still required and remain the best option for achieving those objectives; and
53
 can be improved to reduce the burden on business and overall costs.
Other information
The review consultation started on 21 August and closes on 13 October 2015. Further
information can be found at: http://orr.gov.uk/consultations/policy-consultations/openconsultations/request-for-stakeholders-views-on-rogs
Date updated
July 2015
54
Consultation on the functioning of the
internal market for goods NEW
Background
In 2006 the European Commission conducted a review into the functioning of the
internal market for goods. It concluded that the EU harmonised legislation was not as
effective as it should be. It highlighted 3 things:
1. the high number of products that were on the EU market that did not comply
with product safety legislation
2. the unsatisfactory performance of some conformity assessment bodies
3. the difficulties that many stakeholders faced in understanding and using the EU
legislation
Current status
The Recast of the Placing on the Market directive is one of nine being updated or ‘recast’
as part of a package of measures known as the EU’s ‘New Legislative framework’ (NLF)
for the marketing of products. The measures are designed to help the internal markets
for goods work better and to strengthen and modernise the conditions for placing a
wide range of industrial products on the EU market. This consultation seeks views on the
proposed amending Regulations, which will implement the recast. The recast reinforces
safety requirements by ensuring that all products first placed on the market comply with
essential safety requirements, are CE marked and conformity assessed by a notified
body.
Other information
The above directive and the Supervision of Explosives for Civil Uses Directive can be
found at: Consultation on Recast of the Placing on the Market and Supervision of
Explosives for Civil Uses Directive (93/15/EEC)
Consultation can be via: a response form and either email to:
nlfalignmentconsultation@bis.gsi.gov.uk or write to:
BIS
Victoria Griffiths
55
1 Victoria Street London
SW1H 0ET
Date updated
July 2015
56
Consultation on the proposal to
withdraw the Railway Safety
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations
1997, Railway Safety Regulations 1999
and Railway Safety (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Regulations 2001
Background
ORR has consulted on reviewing existing railway safety regulations. This review is part
of the Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’ to reduce secondary legislation.
Main provisions
The regulations being reviewed are the Railway Safety (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Regulations 1997, Railway Safety Regulations 1999 and Railway Safety (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Regulations 2001. ORR is proposing to replace them with new
regulations, which would:
 Retain the prohibition on the operation of trains on a railway without a train
protection system for that train and railway
 Introduce a new requirement to have a management system for the train protection
system to ensure safe performance
 Retain the prohibition on the operation of Mark 1 rolling stock unless certain
modifications have been made to improve crashworthiness
 Retain the duty on persons in control if infrastructure or transport systems to prevent
unauthorised access to the railway
 Retain the obligation to provide passengers with a means of communication with the
train driver or conductor for use in an emergency
 Remove duties or prohibitions that are either covered by other more recent
regulations, have been superseded, or are out of date
ORR also consulted on a proposal to introduce flexibility to the current arrangements for
the allocation of health and safety functions for railways.
Further details on the proposals (including the new regulations and impact assessment)
can be found in the consultation document available:
57
http://orr.gov.uk/consultations/policy-consultations/open-consultations/revisingrailway-safety-regulations
Current status
The ORR has published its response and next steps towards the revision of three sets of
railway safety regulations which were consulted upon last autumn.
The comments of consultees and ORR feedback may be downloaded from:
http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/17317/final-consulation-responsessummary.pdf
The ORR sent the final draft of the regulations and impact assessment to the
Department for Transport in June 2015 which will enable the regulations to be laid
before Parliament. The regulations and impact assessment will now go through the
Department's clearance processes and the effective date for the new regulations is
expected to be later in 2015. In the meantime ORR are preparing draft guidance to the
regulations and intend to consult the industry on this guidance.
Date updated
July 2015
58
Consultation on EC Regulation
1371/2007 Rail Passengers' Rights and
Obligations
Background
On 14 October 2014 the Government began a consultation process to consider the
future of exemptions from the EC Regulation 1371/2007 Passengers’ Rights.
The Regulation sets out a number of obligations which the rail sector must comply with
in full by 2024. The Regulation is aimed at enhancing and strengthening the rights of rail
passengers particularly in the areas of information and ticketing provision,
compensation and assistance, and provides rights for disabled persons and persons with
reduced mobility. It also contains provision for the enforcement of those rights. More
information can be found in the Department of Transport Guidance note:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/2368/
guidance-note.pdf
Main provisions
The Regulation covers both GB international and most domestic passenger services –
although currently, not all parts of it apply to domestic services and there are some
exceptions.
A full list of railway services which are licensed under 95/18/EC and are therefore ‘in
scope’ can be found here: http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1857
The UK Government has decided that the non-core elements of the Regulation will not
apply to GB domestic services. This exemption was activated by a Statutory Instrument
(SI 2009/2970) and will run for five years up to 3 December 2014. It could then be
extended for two further periods of five years should the UK Government decide to
exercise this right.
Current status
The aim of the consultation is to gather evidence to enable the government to gain a
better understanding of where the rail industry is already meeting or exceeding the
regulation, helping them identify where they may be able to bring certain provisions into
force earlier than the 2024 deadline required by the regulations.
59
The consultation was from 14 October to 23 December 2014 and more information can
be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/rail-passengers-rightsand-obligations
Any additional questions or correspondence on this consultation should be directed to
the following email address: RailPROconsultation@Dft.Gsi.Gov.Uk
The DfT is currently analysing the consultation responses.
Date updated
October 2014
60
System operation – a consultation on
making better use of the railway
network
Background
This consultation looks at how Network Rail operates the rail network and how decisions
by both Network Rail and others are made about the use of this network and its
expansion over time. ORR call this ‘system operation’.
Current status
This consultation will inform ORR’s preparation for the next five yearly review to
determine what is required of Network Rail between 2019 and 2024 (PR18). ORR would
like your views so please get in touch to discuss or attend the workshop ORR is hosting
jointly with Network Rail on Friday 2 October and to respond to this consultation. You
can contact ORR on ORRSystemOperation@orr.gsi.gov.uk.
System operation plays a significant role in determining how well the railway delivers for
passengers, freight customers and train operators and those funding both the network
and train services. ORR sets out a summary of the outcomes which they think good
system operation should help to achieve below.
The target audience for this is all users of the network (such as train and freight
operating companies and passengers and their representative groups), funders
(including governments and taxpayers), Network Rail and other infrastructure managers,
and other interested stakeholders.
Other information
The consultation started on 13 August and closes on 16 October 2015. More information
is available at: http://orr.gov.uk/consultations/policy-consultations/openconsultations/system-operation-consultation
Date updated
July 2015
61
Consultation on ORR's health and safety
compliance and enforcement policy
statement 2015
Background
This consultation document sets out how ORR use its powers to carry out our regulatory
enforcement responsibilities arising from health and safety and other relevant
legislation. It will replace the existing document last published in April 2013.
ORR is the health and safety enforcing authority and National Safety Agency for Britain's
railways. ORR safeguards the public and the workforce by regulating the rail industry's
health and safety performance. ORR’s work covers the mainline railway, High-Speed 1,
light rail, heritage railways, tram networks and Metro systems.
Current status
ORR invites interested parties to comment on ORR’s revised health and safety
compliance and enforcement policy statement.
There are no changes to the principles of ORR’s formal enforcement. There is a new
short section on how ORR complies with the Growth Duty (a duty under the
Deregulation Act, 2013) and, some advice on how decisions around enforcement can be
challenged.
Other information
This consultation started on 20 August and closer on 25 September 2015. More
information is available at: http://orr.gov.uk/consultations/policy-consultations/openconsultations/orrs-health-and-safety-compliance-and-enforcement-policy-statement2015
Date updated
July 2015
62
Section 4: News
News
ORR launches system operation consultation
On the 13th of August he Office of Rail and Road (ORR) launched a consultation on
system operation. System operation is about how Network Rail operates the rail
network and how decisions by Network Rail and others are made about the use of the
system and its expansion over time.
The publication sets out for discussion how system operation should be defined, what
activities are involved and what good system operation looks like. In the rail industry, it
covers a range of functions from long term planning, timetabling and allocation of route
access to day to day running activities such as signalling.
This consultation is the start of a conversation with industry and users about how
greater focus on system operation can deliver a more efficient and effective rail sector.
This conversation will inform the scope of work for the next five yearly review of
Network Rail which will start next year.
ORR is hosting a workshop on this topic jointly with Network Rail on Friday 2 October.
This consultation closes on Friday 16 October.
To read the full consultation paper and to get in touch with the team, visit:
http://orr.gov.uk/consultations/policy-consultations/open-consultations/systemoperation-consultation
The ORR issues improvement notice to West Coast
Rail Company
A Press release on 21st May stated “Safety on the railways is ORR's absolute priority, and
we will not allow services to run where we see safety risks. Following the serious
incident where a West Coast Railway Company (WCRC) train passed a signal warning at
danger near Wootton Bassett Junction on 7 March 2015, ORR inspectors have carried
out an extensive investigation into the standards of safety on their passenger services.
The regulator's initial investigation found shortfalls in the WCRC's safety management
system and in response the company has introduced enhanced safety procedures and
appropriate staff competence regimes. ORR inspectors have been on site examining the
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new safety arrangements and inspecting WCRC passenger services to ensure that the
necessary changes are being fully implemented by the company.
ORR has issued an Improvement Notice to ensure WCRC delivers further improvements.
This will ensure workers are provided with suitable training and effective systems to
control safety risks and have clearly defined performance indicators in place. ORR will
closely monitor the company and will not hesitate to step in if any non-compliance with
the Improvement Notice is found.”
The decision letter to West Coast Railway Company can be read in full here:
http://www.orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/17973/wcrc-safetycertificate-letter-190515.pdf
The Improvement Notice can be read in full here:
http://www.orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/17975/wcrcimprovement-notice-may-2015.pdf
Rail Accident Investigation Branch – Annual Report
2014
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch’s (“RAIB’s”) Annual Report for the 2014 calendar
year was published in June (see
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/raib-annual-report-published2015).
The Report is published in two sections: Section I covers RAIB’s work in 2014 and
includes a review of the industry responses to the areas of risk identified by its
investigations; Section II covers the implementation status of RAIB’s
recommendations. It notes that, during 2014, RAIB published 29 investigation reports
and 1 Safety Bulletin and has initiated a further 19 investigations.
Office of Rail Regulation- Annual Report and Accounts
2015
The ORR has published its Annual Report for 2014-15, which recognises that the industry
is one of the safest railways in Europe, but with increasing rail traffic must not become
complacent. It may be obtained from:
http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/18154/annual-report-2014-15web.pdf
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Station management at Network Rail London Bridge
station between January and March 2015
London Bridge (LBG) mainline station experienced crowding several times between
January and March 2015. In particular, the events of the first week of January, and 3rd
March were widely reported in the media and resulted in high-profile commitments by
Network Rail to resolve problems.
Inspectors from RSD carried out a series of inspections of Network Rail’s station
management arrangements. These inspections included the role of Southern Trains on
the management of the suburban platforms. The inspections had 3 aims:
1.
Investigate whether the events of 3rd March represented a failure to manage
safety at LBG.
2.
Assess the day-to-day operation of LBG.
3.
Assess the interaction between the Thameslink Programme and station
operations, involving a wider consideration of NR’s management of change.
Conclusion
Our investigation has not found any evidence that people at LBG were put at risk. Since
the incident, NR and Southern have learned from the incidents and made a number of
changes designed to improve management at LBG. Some of the changes are matters
that could have been put in place to better manage risks that were largely foreseeable.
The events show the importance of robust risk assessment and planning, and the
importance of unified management of large stations to maximise passenger throughput
and effective crowd control. The events also show how the vulnerable the station is to
managing disruption occurring after significant changes. NR and the train operating
company should consider whether changes and re-opening dates could be timed to
avoid re-opening into full peak service. These conclusions, and those mentioned above
are aimed at preventing a recurrence and/or improving the management of LBG during
disruption.
The HSE issue safety alert
Railway depots may have in use 'Norfolk Range' large dry powder fire extinguishers,
manufactured before 2009, and these may be affected by moisture ingress at a
threaded joint at the base of the unit, rendering the unit inoperable. The problem may
not be identified during routine service inspections.
Users should identify if their extinguishers are likely to be affected. If yes and the
extinguisher has been left exposed to adverse conditions since its last extended service,
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the condition of the elbow joint at the base of the unit should be examined by a
competent service engineer.
If you are unsure if your extinguishers are affected by this safety alert, consult Britannia
Fire Ltd.
Service engineers should closely examine, and if necessary, remove the elbow to
confirm if there is evidence of water ingress to the discharge tube. If there is any doubt
about moisture affecting the powder in the discharge tube, consider subjecting the
extinguisher to an extended service including full replacement of the dry powder. Full
details may be viewed at:http://www.hse.gov.uk/safetybulletins/norfolk-large-wheeled-dry-powder-fireextinguishers.htm?ebul=hsegen&cr=2/17-aug-15
Evaluation of trends in RIDDOR reportable injury data
reported to HSE by dutyholders pre- and post-change
to over-7-day reporting
The HSE commissioned a statistical study (RR1054) to look into the accuracy and extent
of the information reported to the HSE by employers via RIDDOR. Based on a sample of
employer notifications of non-fatal injuries made during the first half of 2012, the
injured person in each case was contacted about the injury, and their view on the
incident and outcome compared to the employer report. Results were aggregated, so
individual employee responses could not be identified.
The study responds to several aims. Firstly, as the HSE publishes many RIDDOR statistics
based on employer reports, it helps provide a fuller understanding of possible
limitations in the data provided by the employer, compared to the injured person
themselves. Secondly, there was legal change to RIDDOR in April 2012, whereby the
reporting threshold for incapacitation changed from over 3 days to over 7 days. Thirdly,
each respondent was asked to provide the actual number of days off work as a result of
the injury (RIDDOR does not require this).
The HSE and ORR statisticians will use the findings of this study, for example to provide
contextual information when providing users with statistics, or in support of European
statistics developments. It may be found at:http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr1054.pdf
New telephone number for reporting RIDDORs
The HSE has introduced an alternative 0345 phone number to report fatal and
specified injuries, helping to cut the cost of telephone calls for the public. The
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new number for the RIDDOR Incident Contact Centre is 0345 300 9923.
Railway group members are reminded that railway incidents are to be
reported to the ORR directly, however, reports may come via the public using
the number above.
The HSE publish revised guidance
INDG233 – Preventing contact dermatitis and urticaria at work (rev2) has been revised.
This guidance is about preventing work related dermatitis and urticaria for employers
and employee representatives. The leaflet explains what the law requires, and which
jobs present most risk. The guidance has been simplified and streamlined in this
revision.
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health- COSHH
Essentials
The HSE have replaced their web based system for performing COSHH assessments with
a new one, to incorporate changes to labelling and hazard statements etc, additionally
they have published a series of industry/ task specific information sheets to assist
companies to comply, an example is Motor/ Vehicle Repairs (which would equally apply
to Depots), this may be accessed at :
http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/essentials/direct-advice/mvr.htm
Other activities include servicing, retail and welding and may well replace the
cumbersome systems which may be found across the industry.
Where tasks are not already covered the web system may be accessed at:
http://www.coshh-essentials.org.uk/entryoptions.asp
Web guidance on powered gates
The HSE have updated their website information and guidance for safety on the design,
construction, supply, and use, inspection, and maintenance of powered gates. It is
intended to assist all those responsible for powered gate safety meet their legal duties,
including manufacturers, suppliers, installers, owners, landlords, and anyone working on
this type of machinery. The link is http://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipmentmachinery/powered-gates/introduction.htm?eban=govdel-equipment-atwork&cr=04-Jun-2015
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HSE report on hand-arm vibration
This report: RR1060 – A critical review of evidence related to hand-arm vibration
syndrome and the extent of exposure to vibration describes a systematic literature
review on the nature of the exposure-response relationship between hand-transmitted
vibration and the elements of hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), ie the vascular,
neurosensory and musculoskeletal components.
The HSE publish research on stubble and facemasks
RR1052 – The effect of wearer stubble on the protection given by Filtering Facepieces
Class 3 (FFP3) and Half Masks has been published which may be of interest for
depot safety managers. ORR and HSE Inspectors routinely come across
workers with various degrees of stubble growth using respiratory protective
masks, despite guidance to the contrary. This research studied the effect of 07 days stubble growth on the protection given by FFP3 filtering facepieces and
half masks.
Development of a Health Risk Management Maturity
Index (HeRMMIn) as a performance leading indicator
within the construction industry
The HSE has published research (RR1045) which extends the concept of management
maturity into Occupational Health one of the key areas of interest and development by
the ORR. To date, OH culture maturity has not been fully considered as separate from
safety culture maturity. However, challenges specific to OH such as the latency between
exposure and harm and the visibility of the hazard may warrant that the two are
separated out. Although the study concentrates on the construction industry some of
the ideas and concepts may be transferrable. The report may be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr1045.pdf
ORR quarterly occupational health update
The May 2015 edition of the ORR's quarterly occupational health update is now
available to download:
http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/17983/occupational-health-update-may2015.pdf
This issue focuses on:
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 Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM) 2015 - what it means for
occupational health
 Sharing Occupational Health Best Practice - recent examples and a request for more
 Look Out For the ORR's Report On Occupational Health Progress By 2014
 The Office of Rail Regulation is now the Office of Rail and Road
GRIP
The Health & Safety Laboratory has developed a footwear slip resistance rating system
called GRIP, which it is hoping footwear manufacturers will take up to assist workplaces
to identify the most suitable soles for their environment. Details and current ratings may
be obtained from: http://www.hsl.gov.uk/products/grip?ebul=gdwelding&cr=5/Mar15
Office of Rail Regulation to be re-named Office of Rail
and Road
The Office of Rail Regulation is now using the name Office of Rail and Road to reflect
new responsibilities from 1 April 2015 for monitoring the efficiency and performance of
England's strategic road network.
ORR’s Health and Safety Regulatory Strategy
The ORR has revised and republished the strategy for its vision of achieving zero
fatalities or major injuries through application of targeted regulatory activities, and its
ambition to be the world’s leading health and safety regulator for the industry. The
document explains how activities are prioritised across the whole industry in order to
achieve these aims. It may be obtained from:
http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/17019/health-and-safety-regulatorystrategy.pdf
Safe use of work equipment - Provision and Use of
Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Approved Code of
Practice and Guidance.
This Approved Code of Practice and guidance has been revised and is aimed at
employers, dutyholders and anyone who has responsibility for the safe use of work
equipment, such as managers and supervisors. It sets out what is needed to comply with
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the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The Regulations, commonly
known as PUWER, place duties on people and companies who own, operate or have
control over work equipment. PUWER also places responsibilities on businesses and
organisations whose employees use work equipment, whether owned by them or not.
A free copy of the ACOP may be downloaded from:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l22.pdf
UK railway safety statistics 2001-2014
DfT has published their annual updates, on a financial year basis (in a series of excel
spreadsheets). They may be obtained from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/rai05-rail-accidents-and-safety
Key Dates for impending Regulations
29 Oct 2018
Train Driving Licences and Certificates Regulations 2010 (TDLCR) –
Requirement for existing drivers (cross-border and domestic) to hold licences and
certificates comes into effect: http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.2447
Court cases
Companies fined £25,000 for failure to ensure safety
of passengers during Berkhamsted station
refurbishment
Train operator London & Birmingham Railway Limited (London Midland) and
construction company JSS Rail Limited (Sisk Rail) have been fined a total of £25,000 and
ordered to pay costs of £19,629.80 following a prosecution brought by the Office of Rail
and Road.
The companies were prosecuted for breaches of health and safety law after failing to
ensure public safety during the refurbishment of Berkhamsted station, Hertfordshire, in
2012, which led to a passenger being seriously injured after falling down a stairway.
In June 2012, Berkhamsted station was being refurbished but remained open for use by
passengers and members of the public. As part of the station modernisation, a stairway
linking two platforms was subject to extensive building work, including removal of the
handrail. On 13 June, a passenger lost her footing and fell to the bottom of the stairs,
sustaining significant and long term injuries. Following the incident, the refurbishment
work was suspended until temporary protective measures and a roped hand rail were
fitted in the stairwell.
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The sentencing hearing at St Albans Crown Court follows an investigation by ORR which
found that neither Sisk Rail, responsible for planning the construction work, nor London
Midland, responsible for providing a safe station environment for customers, had
adequately planned for the removal of the handrails. ORR's investigation found that
neither company had installed any protective measures in the surrounding area to warn
that the handrails had been removed. This posed a clear safety risk to the users of the
stairway. It wasn't until a passenger fell down the stairs that the necessary safeguards
were put in place to protect passengers from the risk of using the stairwell with no
handrail.
London Midland and Sisk Rail both pleaded guilty to charges made under section 3 of
the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
The full press release may be obtained from: http://orr.gov.uk/news-and-media/pressreleases/2015/companies-fined-for-failure-to-ensure-safety-of-passengers-duringstation-refurbishment-in-hertfordshire
Construction company fined for insecure site
A construction company has been fined for safety failings which led to a two-year-old
boy wandering onto a building site.
360 Property Limited were the principal contractor for a new build housing development
at Oak Road, Blaina. An improvement notice was served on the site after site security
issues were not addressed, despite a previous visit from a HSE inspector who highlighted
concerns.
Newport Magistrates’ Court heard on 20 August how, between 22 January 2015 and 10
June 2015, the construction site was inadequately secured. On 21 May 2015, a two-yearold child had gained access to the site and was riding his bike when he fell into a drain,
the cover of which had been removed. Fortunately, the child was shaken but not
injured.
360 Property Limited was fined a total of £10,000, and ordered to pay £6,668.15 in costs
after pleading guilty to two offences under section 27(2) of the Construction (Design and
Management) Regulations 2007 and section 18(2) of the Construction (Design &
Management) Regulations 2015, effectively one offence split by the change in
regulations.
HSE inspector David Kirkpatrick said: “It is absolutely imperative that construction
companies adequately secure their construction sites to prevent unauthorised access.
Construction sites can contain hazards that children and vulnerable people may not fully
appreciate.”
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Train driver receives prison sentence for ignoring
safety systems
A former First Capital Connect train driver received a three-month custodial sentence,
suspended for twelve months, and was ordered to pay costs of £500, after he ignored
warnings and safety systems on the Cambridge to London train he was driving. On 7
November, the driver pleaded guilty at Stevenage Magistrates Court following a
prosecution brought by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) for a breach of section 7(a) of
the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in October 2013.
On 8 October 2013, the 20:40 Cambridge to London Kings Cross passed a red signal at
Hitchin station. The train's warning safety system applied automatic brakes but the
driver deliberately reset the system and continued without seeking the required
authorisation. Prior to leaving Cambridge he had also failed to set up his Cab Secure
Radio, which prevented any direct contact from the signaller. As a result of these actions
the train ran ‘out of control’ putting the driver, passengers and train staff at risk of a
serious incident.
Worker’s death uncovers ‘appalling state’ of ladders
An investigation into the death of a worker installing guttering at a home in Llandudno
found he was using an unsafe ladder, a court has heard. Although the state of the ladder
was not directly attributable to the fall, the company was fined under the PUWER
Regulations as three ladders on site had a number of serious defects.
HSE’s investigation found that the ladder provided by the company was in an extremely
poor state. Although HSE accepted the ladder was not responsible for the fall, it did have
a number of serious safety defects which had the potential to cause serious incidents.
Two other ladders provided for use on the job had similar critical defects.
HSE found the feet of the ladder were worn through, rungs were bent and one was
missing. The defects were obvious through even a cursory inspection and made the
ladder unfit for use.
The owner of the roofline products’ business was prosecuted by HSE at Wrexham
Magistrates’ court on 18 February. He pleaded guilty to breaching regulation 5(1) of the
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and was fined £4,000 and ordered to
pay £4,000 in costs.
The court also granted a Forfeiture & Destruction Order for the ladders.
For more information see: http://www.shponline.co.uk/workers-death-uncoversappalling-state-ladders/
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