Explains the application of the Railway Safety (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1997.
The Railway Safety (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1997 replaced a large number of old provisions, dating back as far as 1839. They created five new goal-setting duties to:
- prevent unauthorised access to the railway infrastructure (for example by means of lineside fencing);
- provide means of passenger communication with staff on trains;
- prevent collisions and derailments (for example by means of adequate signalling systems);
- provide adequate braking systems; and
- prevent accidents to staff (for example trackside workers) from moving vehicles.
Stakeholder survey on the updating the guidance
The guidance for the Railway Safety (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1997 has not been re-issued since publication by the Health and Safety Executive in 1997.
We would like stakeholders’ views on whether updated guidance would be useful and on what form it should take. We are particularly keen to understand whether stakeholders would prefer updated guidance targeted at specific areas or a more general policy statement, particularly as many aspects of the current guidance may be adequately covered by other more recent health and safety legislation and guidance.
We have created a survey proforma - please send your completed survey to sue.butler@orr.gov.uk by 24 January 2020.
We plan to consult stakeholders formally on any new draft guidance in Spring 2020.