Horizon explores: Railway Standards
Helping you get the most from standards
Our standards experts and solution pathways can save you money and increase your efficiency.
Anna PlodowskiSenior Content Editorial Manager, RSSB
A key purpose of standards is economic efficiency. By adopting standards, industry can be more efficient. Agreed ways of doing things prevent unnecessary spending on unsuitable equipment or processes. They also prevent costly workarounds later or at the interface between systems.
Achieving these benefits depends on understanding the best way to apply standards for your organisation. This can vary between different types of projects and teams involved. Some may be very familiar with relevant standards, and they may even have contributed their expertise to developing a standard. Others may not yet be in that position.
To help you get the best out of standards, whatever the level of expertise of your project teams, we have created a range of solution pathways to match.
If you’re completely new to standards, our guidance document should be your first port of call. It explains how standards should be implemented. It also answers basic questions that standards newbies may have without having to wait for a response from our experts.
If you’re still unsure about the sort of standards help you need, the next step is to use our ‘Request for Help’ process. This is designed to identify the core aspects of your query so that our experts can respond most effectively to you.
If a project leader or team is familiar with the relevant standards, they may have a clear understanding of which aspect needs to change to ensure compliance. There are different sorts of changes that can be made, so we also provide advanced information and processes to maximise effectiveness.
For instance, before approaching us with a request for a deviation, you can check our deviations register. This will show you if there has ever been a similar request. Even if an approved deviation is not for an identical need, you can work with our experts to use part of its approach for your own deviation.
Should your project require a more substantive change to an existing standard, we have a dedicated process for that, too. Our standards experts are involved in helping you with all these processes.
We’re also keen to hear from you even when that isn’t essential, including:
if you’re using an alternative to a requirement in a Rail Industry Standard
if you have insights or feedback that you wish to share
if we’re consulting industry about a standard.
There’s no requirement that you inform us in these situations. But sharing information in this way allows the whole industry to benefit from your hard-won expertise.
Whatever your standards need or insight, we look forward to hearing from you.
Useful resources:
how standards should be applied, read our guidance
what standards to use ’Request for Help’
getting help with deviations and check the deviations register
applying for a deviation from an RGS or the Rule Book
implementing an alternative arrangement to a RIS
sign up to receive information on standards consultations
contributing to a standards consultation, see our Standards Consultation portal
share insights or feedback about standards.
