The Railways (Safety Case) Regulations 2000

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

1.  These Regulations revoke and re-enact with modifications the Railways (Safety Case) Regulations 1994 which provided for railway operators to prepare safety cases and to submit them for acceptance to the infrastructure controller or to the Health and Safety Executive (“the Executive”).

2.  In addition to minor and drafting amendments, the Regulations make the following changes of substance.

3.  The Regulations—

(a) extend the requirement for safety cases to be accepted by the Executive to every person who operates trains or stations (regulation 5(1));

(b) require an infrastructure controller to make a recommendation to the Executive with regard to the acceptability of a safety case or revision thereto prepared by a train or station operator (regulation 5(4));

(c) in relation to railway infrastructure specified in regulation 3, require an infrastructure controller—

(i) to procure from an assessment body (as defined in regulation 2(1)) an assessment of his safety case and of any safety case submitted to him by a train or station operator (regulations 4(2) and 5(3));

(ii) to procure from that body a report of that assessment including a recommendation as to whether the safety case should be accepted and whether it is satisfactory for the purposes of regulations 2(4) or 2(5) as the case may be (regulation 4(2) and 5(3)); and

(iii) to provide a copy of those reports to the Executive (regulations 4(3) and 5(4));

(d) apply the requirements referred to in paragraph (c) above also in respect of revisions to safety cases (regulation 7(10));

(e) confer upon the Executive—

(i) a duty to notify its determination as to acceptance of a safety case or revision to the person who has made that safety case or revision and, where different, to the infrastructure controller (regulations 4(4), 5(7) and 7(7));

(ii) a power to direct an infrastructure controller to scrutinise an operator’s safety case and to make a recommendation upon it (regulation 5(8));

(iii) a power to require a review of a safety case (regulation 6); and

(iv) a power to direct that a revision be made to a safety case (regulation 8);

(f) in relation to railway infrastructure specified in regulation 3, require an infrastructure controller to procure from an assessment body at least every 12 months an audit of specified operations and to obtain a report of that audit (regulation 9);

(g) extend the duty to co-operate to an assessment body and in respect of the functions to be carried out by such body (regulation 11);

(h) require an infrastructure controller to ensure that operators of trains or stations conform with their safety cases (regulation 12) and to notify non-compliance to the Executive in specified circumstances (regulation 13);

(i) require safety cases and revisions to be made available for public inspection and require audit reports to be sent to the Executive and other specified persons (regulation 14); and

(j) provide for an appeal to the Secretary of State against a refusal by the Executive to accept a safety case or revision and against a direction of the Executive to revise a safety case (regulation 15).

4.  The Regulations contain transitional provisions (regulation 16).

5.  The Regulations make consequential amendments and revoke the Railways (Safety Case) Regulations 1994 (regulation 18).

6.  A copy of the regulatory impact assessment prepared in respect of these Regulations can be obtained from the Railways Directorate, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Zone 3/29 Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DR. A copy has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament.