Cliff Cork Independent Chair, Industry Standards Coordination Committee
The Industry Standards Coordination Committee (ISCC) met four times during 2022 with physical meetings resuming, in a hybrid format so that members can join remotely if required. Attendance has been very good, as is customary.
During the year, all of the standards committee chairs joined the meeting on occasion to present updates from their respective committees. In October it was particularly pleasing to welcome Liz Davies as the chair of a brand-new committee, the Data Systems and Telematics standards committee, to present for the first time.
ISCC formally reviewed its membership in October, in accordance with its remit and The Code. A new member has been welcomed in the rolling stock owner category following the retirement of Laurence Gregory of Angel Trains. Laurence was probably the longest serving member ever of ISCC and its forerunners and I’m grateful for the personal contribution he has made over many years on behalf of his constituents.
Standardisation at the European and global level continues to be important and UK representation in the principal European standards bodies, European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), and the international standards bodies, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). I personally continue as Chair of the senior rail standardisation group in CEN (TC 256 Railway applications).
Following the end of the transition period of the UK’s exit from the EU, the EU Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) have been adopted in the UK as National Technical Specification Notices (NTSN). As 2022 closes we’re starting to see the change control process for NTSNs take effect. Possible changes originating from the UK, and changes from the EU, need to be evaluated and decisions taken with respect to alignment or divergence from the EU. There are government commitments to maintain alignment, but there is now greater opportunity to diverge where there is a justified case to do so. ISCC plays a key role in supporting the industry through standards committees and the government in this process.
As is customary, on behalf of ISCC, I’d like to thank all those across the industry, as well as those in RSSB, for their continued high quality engagement and support to standards in the UK and worldwide.
Cliff CorkIndependent Chair, Industry Standards Coordination Committee
