Railway Safety Directive

What is the Railway Safety Directive?

The objective of the Railway Safety Directive (RSD) is to create a common European regulatory framework for safety, in particular, the maintenance of safety management systems (SMS).  It is intended that a common approach will help to break down barriers to the establishment of international transport operations and help create a single market for rail transport services in Europe.

Purpose of RSD

The purpose of the RSD is to:

• harmonise railway safety regulatory structures across Europe;
• define responsibilities between various players (operators, infrastructure, national safety authorities, etc);
• develop common safety targets and methods (to be developed by a European Commission agency called the European Railway Agency (ERA);
• establish safety authorities and accident investigation bodies; and
• define common principles for the management, regulation and supervision of railway safety.

Has it been implemented?

The requirement to implement most of the remaining provisions of the Railway Safety Directive (RSD) provided a good opportunity to consolidate the current regulatory framework in Great Britain - The Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (ROGS) were developed as part of a legislative reform project to:

• implement some aspects of the Railway Safety Directive (RSD) on the mainline railway;
• replace the Railway Safety Case Regulations 2000 (RSCR);
• replace the Railways and Other Transport Systems (Approval Works, Plant and Equipment) Regulations 1994 (ROTS);
• replace the Safety Critical Work Regulations 1994 (SCWR); and
• implement outstanding recommendations from Lord Cullen’s inquiry.

ROGS provides a consolidated, coherent set of regulations for railways - including heritage and light rail, tramways, metros, and other guided transport systems, such as monorails. Though this means some requirements similar to the Safety Directive exist on these systems, the Directive only applies to the mainline railway in Great Britain.

More information can be found in our ROGS section.

National Safety Rules

The Railway Safety Directive requires Member States to develop a system of national safety rules. We have worked with DfT and RSSB to develop the United Kingdom’s national safety rules. When we receive confirmation that our proposed rules have been accepted by the European Commission, the rules will be made available on our website.

Until this time please contact Matt Westlake, Executive, European Policy, for further information.

Last updated: 6 December 2011

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