Abbreviation | RSSB |
---|---|
Formation | 2003 |
Legal status | Active |
Location |
|
Region served | Great Britain |
Chief Executive | Mark Phillips |
Chair | Mike Brown |
Website | www |
The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is a British independent company limited by guarantee. Interested parties include various rail industry organisations, including Network Rail, train operating companies (TOCs), and rolling stock companies (ROSCOs). The RSSB operates as a not-for-profit entity, its primary purpose being to bring about improved health and safety performance throughout Britain's railway network.
In the fulfilment of this purpose, the Board undertakes numerous safety-focused monitoring and continuous improvement programmes, such as the railway supplier quality assurance scheme RISQS and the Confidential Incident Reporting & Analysis System (CIRAS). It is also works with operators to identify and address risks, and is responsible for the updating and issuing of the British Railway Rule Book, amongst its other activities. The majority of Britain's train operators are obliged to be members of the RSSB, and to ensure compliance with their membership obligations across all of their operations. During the 2010s, the RSSB was restructured in order to better fulfil its purpose.
The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) which was established during 2003 as a result of a direct recommendation of the public inquiry into the Ladbroke Grove rail crash. [1] [2] According to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) regulatory body: "The RSSB's principal objective is to lead and facilitate the rail industry's work to achieve continuous improvement in the health and safety performance of the railways in Great Britain." [3] In accordance with this principle, the agency's prime purpose is to lead the various other entities associated with Great Britain's rail network, including the ORR, rail infrastructure owner and maintainer Network Rail, and the Rail Delivery Group operating body. Amongst its responsibilities, the RSSB is responsible for the publication and updating of the British Railway Rule Book, [4] which defines technical standards and operating procedures upon the railway.
The RSSB's ownership is divided amongst a range of different organisations in the British railway sector, including Network Rail, infrastructure managers, train operating companies, and rolling stock companies. [5] [2] As a condition of their licence obligations, the majority of Britain's train operators are required by the ORR to be members of the RSSB and to comply with the obligations of membership. [3] The RSSB is financed primarily via levies sourced from its members. [6] The ORR itself supervises the RSSB, performing periodic independent reviews of the organisation for such purposes. [6]
Operationally, the RSSB has routinely employed various techniques to assess and manage risk, particularly during incident investigations, to help drive improvements in the rail industry's health and safety policies. [6] It operates multiple teams of inspectors that act not only to ensure legal compliance and appropriate certification is obtained and maintained by the organisations involved, but to foster a climate of continuous improvement throughout all elements of the rail industry. To this end, the RSSB has been committed to the continued development of various models, tools, and competences to support its members. [6] [7] New models and tools have also been developed through the stewardship of the RSSB. [8] [9]
RSSB is also responsible for operating the railway supplier assurance scheme RISQS, [10] as well as the confidential incident reporting line, Confidential Incident Reporting & Analysis System (CIRAS). [11] It also supporting several cross-industry groups for the purpose of addressing key safety concerns, and encouraged collaboration to address such concerns. Since its establishment, the RSSB has sought to foster greater levels of customer engagement to better go about its mission. [6] [2] [12] The RSSB promotes the Trackoff programme promoting rail safety within schools, [13] as well as the Sustainable Rail Programme. [14]
Under the supervision and direction of the RSSB, various safety-related changes have been introduced upon Britain's railways. One example is new standards for high-visibility clothing, which have been credited with a measurable improvement in the effective safety levels for rail workers and other staff interacting with the network. [15] The specifications for Rail Industry Standard RIS-3279-TOM (fluorescent orange) high-visibility clothing, suitable for use on railways in the United Kingdom, are published by the RSSB. [16] In late 2019, the RSSB announced that it was formulating a safety strategy to allow hydrogen-powered trains to be routinely operated upon the mainline rail network. [17]
During the 2010s, the RSSB has undergone structural changes so that the mutual obligations between the Board and its member organisations can be better fulfilled. [6] These alterations to business practices have included a greater emphasis on transparency, the clarification of its core functions, improvements to communications, and a new focus on being proactive in its undertakings. It is reportedly intended that these changes, which were performed primarily in response to recommendations issued by the ORR, shall help drive improvements in rail safety standards while also delivering a more efficient and sustainable railway. [6] According to the RSSB's chief operating officer Johnny Schute, a greater level of engagement between the Board and the membership is a major priority, and that industry players typically ought to be more proactive and vocal in matters of safety. [6]
The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest railway system in the world. The first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825, which was followed by an era of rapid expansion. Most of the track is managed by Network Rail, which in 2017 had a network of 15,811 kilometres (9,824 mi) of standard-gauge lines, of which 5,374 kilometres (3,339 mi) were electrified. These lines range from single to quadruple track or more. In addition, some cities have separate metro, light rail and tram systems. There are also many private railways, which are primarily short lines for tourists. The main rail network is connected with that of continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel and High Speed 1, which fully opened in 1994 and 2007 respectively.
Network Rail Limited is the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's length" public body of the Department for Transport with no shareholders, which reinvests its income in the railways.
The Ladbroke Grove rail crash was a rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 at Ladbroke Grove in London, England, when two passenger trains collided almost head-on after one of them had passed a signal at danger. With 31 people killed and 417 injured, it was one of the worst rail accidents in 20th-century British history.
There are effectively two separate mainline railway systems in the United Kingdom – the Great Britain system and the Northern Ireland system, which are regulated and operated separately, and are constituted under separate pieces of United Kingdom legislation.
The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the industry was initiated by EU Directive 91/440 in 1991, which aimed to create a more efficient rail network by creating greater competition.
The Hatfield rail crash was a railway accident on 17 October 2000, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire. It was caused by a metal fatigue-induced derailment, killing four people and injuring more than 70.
West Coast Railways (WCR) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire. Using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the Steamtown Carnforth visitor attraction, in June 1998 the company became the first privately owned company to be given a licence as a train operating company.
A signal passed at danger (SPAD), known in the United States as a stop signal overrun and in Canada as passing a stop signal, is an event on a railway where a train passes a stop signal without authority. In the United States and Canada, this may be known colloquially as running a red, though this idiom principally refers to automobiles passing red traffic signals.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways.
Rail Alphabet is a neo-grotesque sans-serif typeface designed by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert for signage on the British Rail network. First used at Liverpool Street station, it was then adopted by the Design Research Unit (DRU) as part of their comprehensive 1965 rebranding of the company.
A train event recorder – also called On-Train Monitoring Recorder (OTMR), On-Train Data Recorder (OTDR), Event Recorder System (ERS), Event Recorder Unit (ERU), or Juridical Recording Unit (JRU) – is a device that records data about the operation of train controls, the performance of the train in response to those controls, and the operation of associated control systems. It is similar in purpose to the flight data recorder or black box used on aircraft.
A railway detonator is a coin-sized device that is used as a loud warning signal to train drivers. It is placed on the top of the rail, usually secured with two lead straps, one on each side. When the wheel of the train passes over, it explodes, emitting a loud bang. It was invented in 1841 by English inventor Edward Alfred Cowper.
In the early evening of 8 August 1996, a Class 321 passenger train operated by Network SouthEast travelling from London Euston on the West Coast Main Line Down Slow line at around 110 km/h (68 mph) passed a signal at danger. Having applied the brakes it eventually stopped 203 m past the signal and was traversing the junction between the Down Slow line and the Up Fast line. An empty Class 321 coaching stock train approaching at roughly 80 km/h (50 mph) collided with the stationary passenger train approximately 700 m south of Watford Junction whilst progressing across the connections from the Up Slow line to the Up Fast line.
A near miss, near death, near hit or close call is an unplanned event that has the potential to cause, but does not actually result in human injury, environmental or equipment damage, or an interruption to normal operation.
One-person operation (OPO), also known as driver-only operation (DOO), one-man operation (OMO), single person train operation (SPTO), or one-person train operation (OPTO), similarly to Driver Controlled Operation, is operation of a train, bus, or tram by the driver alone, without a conductor.
Automatic block signaling (ABS), spelled automatic block signalling or called track circuit block (TCB) in the UK, is a railroad communications system that consists of a series of signals that divide a railway line into a series of sections, called blocks. The system controls the movement of trains between the blocks using automatic signals. ABS operation is designed to allow trains operating in the same direction to follow each other in a safe manner without risk of rear-end collision.
The Confidential Incident Reporting & Analysis Service (CIRAS) is a confidential safety reporting service for health, safety and wellbeing concerns raised by workers in the UK transport industry. It is funded by members and run independently, though is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). The service covers the following sectors: passenger and freight train operators, light rail, Network Rail and its suppliers, London Underground, and Transport for London (TfL) bus operators.
Heritage Operations Processing System, Heritage Ops, or HOPS, is a web-based tool for the day-to-day running and management of preserved and heritage railways. The system was developed, from a concept drawn up by Danny Scroggins and Luke Cartey.
On 7 March 2015, a steam-hauled charter train passed a signal at danger and subsequently came to a stand across a high-speed mainline junction near Wootton Bassett Junction, Wiltshire, England. Another train, which had right of way, had passed through the junction 44 seconds earlier and no collision occurred nor was any damage done.
Trains include a variety of types of lights, for safety, illumination, and communicating train status. The most universal type of light is the headlight, which is included on the front of locomotives, and frequently on the rear as well. Other types of lights include classification lights, which indicate train direction and status, and ditch lights, which are a pair of lights positioned towards the bottom of a train to illuminate the tracks.