Safety Regulations 1994 (ROTS)
The Safety Regulations 2006 (ROGS) contain provisions for Safety Verification for the control of initial integrity risks arising form the introduction of new or altered vehicles and infrastructure.
The current regime, known as ROTS (Railways and Other Transport Systems (Approval of Works, Plant and Equipment) Regulations 1994), will be retained according to the transitional provisions in ROGS, i.e HMRI will:
- Accept applications under ROTS until October 2006 with works due for completion (bringing into service) in October 2008;
- For tramways and heritage railways the above dates will be extended to October 2008 and October 2010 respectively.
Under the Safety Regulations 1994 (ROTS), operators of railways, tramways and other transport systems must gain approval from the Office of Rail Regulation, delegated to HMRI, before bringing any new and altered works, plant or equipment into use.
This includes locomotives and rolling stock and certain other transport systems such as tramways, trolley vehicle systems, light railways, transit systems and guided busways.
The approvals process
The general procedures for the approvals of equipment under ROTS are illustrated in the revised guide – Guide to the approval of railway works, plant and equipment.
Certain works are excluded from the need to have Approval. Four General Notices under Regulation 10(1)(b) of ROTS have been issued and are now included in the guide above. A fifth General Notice was issued on 27 January 2006 relating to Guided Buses.
