This section provides a summary of the overall status of the standards catalogue to demonstrate adherence to the requirements of the Railway Standards Code and Railway Standards Manual and as an indicator of good stewardship.
The ‘Code’ is set by ORR. It defines the procedures by which RGSs are created, revised, withdrawn, authorised, and published. It also defines the procedures by which the effectiveness of RGSs is monitored and reviewed and how to manage deviations. The Code is supported by a Standards Manual that describes how the requirements of The Code are to be delivered. This report meets a requirement of The Code. The Code and Manual have been revised and were published 1 January 2024 on RSSB’s website.
At the end of 2023, the standards catalogue had 294 live RSSB documents, one more than in 2022. Figure 2 shows the range of types of documents, and Table 1 lists the detailed changes to the catalogue.
Figure 2 Documents in the standards catalogue
GPG – Good Practice Guide
Figure 3 Document types in the standards catalogue by year
Figure 3 shows that the range of document types has been relatively stable over the past few years. The year 2005 is included for comparison to demonstrate the overall reduction in documents, the significant reduction in RGSs, and the development of RISs.
During the year, five new standards were produced, revisions were made to 35 existing standards, Rule Book modules, and handbooks, and 11 point releases were issued. In a handful of cases, both a revision and a point release were issued to the same document during the year, and these are only counted once. Table 1 lists the documents that changed during the year.
Table 1 New, revised, and withdrawn standards documents published in 2023
Catalogue date
Status
Documents
March 2023
Revised
GMRT2466 issue 5 Railway Wheelsets
RIS-2766-RST issue two Rail Industry Standard for Wheelsets
Point release
RIS-3704-TOM issue 1.1 Managing Train Accident Risk Arising from Train Operations
GIRT7073 issue three Requirements for the Position of Infrastructure and for Defining and Maintaining Clearances
RS524 issue 1.1 List of Dangerous Goods and their United Nations Numbers
June 2023
New
GOGN3616 issue one Guidance on Operational Railway Safety Awareness
RIS-0799-CCS issue one ERTMS/ETCS Baseline 3 Onboard Subsystem Requirements
GIRT7033 issue 4.1 Lineside Operational Signs - Product Requirements
GMRT2100 issue 6.2 Rail Vehicle Structures and Passive Safety
RIS-3350-TOM issue two Communication of urgent operating advice
RIS-2714-RST issue one Axle Bearing Condition Monitoring
RIS-8250-RST issue two Management of Safety-Related Rail Vehicle Defects
GMGN2696 issue one Assessment of Passenger Seat Comfort
RIS-2770-RST issue 1.1 Movement of Continental Wagons on the GB Network
September 2023
RIS-4472-RST issue two Engineering Requirements for Steam Locomotives and other Heritage Rail Vehicles
RIS-2795-RST issue 2.3 Track to Train RFID Compatibility
RIS-0703-CCS issue two Signalling layout and signal aspect sequence requirements
RIS-0707-CCS issue two Management of Control Command and Signalling (CCS) Subsystem Failures, Faults and Defects
RIS-3780-TOM issue two Operational Requirements for GSM-R Radio
RIS-1530-PLT issue seven On-Track Plant, Trolleys and Associated Equipment
GERT8000 Issue HB issue seventeen Rule Book Handbook Issue History
GERT8000-Gloss issue seven Glossary of Railway Terminology
GERT8000-HB13 issue four Duties of the person in charge of the siding possession (PICOS)
GERT8000-TW5 issue twelve Defective or isolated vehicles and on-train equipment
GERT8000-SS1 issue nine Station duties and train dispatch
GERT8000 Issue issue thirty-six Rule Book Module Issue History
GERT8000-TS1 issue seventeen General signalling regulations
GERT8000-HB10 issue five Duties of the COSS and person in charge when using a hand trolley
GERT8000-M1 issue seven Dealing with a train accident or train evacuation
GERT8000-M2 issue seven Train stopped by train failure
GERT8000-S5 issue eleven Passing a signal at danger or an end of authority (EoA) without a movement authority (MA)
GERT8000-S7 issue six Observing and obeying signalling indications. Train warning systems. Reporting signalling failures and irregularities
GERT8000-TW1 issue nineteen Preparation and movement of trains
GERT8000-OTM issue eleven Working of on-track machines (OTM)
GERT8000-TW4 issue two Preparation and working of freight trains
GERT8000-TS2 issue sixTrack circuit block regulations
GERT8000-TS11 issue six Failure of, or work on, signalling equipment - signallers’ regulations
GERT8000-SS2 issue six Shunting
GERT8000-HB19 issue five Work on signalling equipment – duties of the signalling technician
GERM8000-trackworkers issue twelve Track Workers Manual
December 2023
GCRT5021 issue six Track System Requirements
RIS-7707-INS issue one Switches and Crossings
GERT8001 issue eighty Changes to National Operations Publications for December 2023
GERT8000-RBBL issue 39.1 Rule Book Briefing Leaflet
GERT8000-T3 issue 11.1 Possession of a running line for engineering work
GERM8000-traindriver issue 13.1 Train Driver Manual
GERM8000-possessionworkers issue 9.1 Possession Workers Manual
GERM8000-signallersignallingtechnician issue 13.1 Signaller and Signalling Technician Manual
GERM8000-master-module issue 13.1 Master manual
RSSB produces technical notes to help with the application of standards, guidance, or legislation. They may relate to one specific standard, multiple standards, or pieces of legislation relating to a specific topic.
They help provide a more flexible response to recurring queries by providing clarifications. They also help promote a common understanding by providing information visible to everyone in rail.
Technical notes are non-binding reference documents that do not change existing requirements so do not change the application of current standards or legislation. They are produced outside of the full standards governance of the Railway Standards Code and the Railway Standards Manual.
In 2023, seven technical notes were published, as set out in Table 2.
Table 2 Summary of published technical notes
Technical note
Summary of content
TN103 Freight Coupler Loads
This technical note describes the factors that limit the length and weight of a train that a freight locomotive is permitted to haul. It aims to assist industry in assessing locomotive coupler capacity, considering route gradient and curvature, so that additional train capacity can be gained by using more realistic calculations.
TN104 Engineering change (software and firmware)
This technical note provides additional guidance on managing engineering changes in software and firmware for rail vehicles, offering specific guidance to complement existing standards.
TN105 Reporting of adverse events
This technical note describes the RSSB systems for assessing and reporting safety-related information, aiding legal compliance and data quality. This technical note shows which systems should be used when, and which RISs are relevant to each situation.
TN106 Examination and repair of structural corrosion in Mark 1 type rolling stock
This technical note sets out industry-agreed guidance for undertaking examination and repair activities to address corrosion that affects the structural performance of Mark 1 type vehicles. It highlights known problem areas for corrosion in these vehicle types, indicating where the resulting loss of structural strength may not be apparent without vehicle disassembly.
TN109 Fire-related properties of batteries
This technical note complements existing standards by providing essential information on battery technology and its fire-related properties, addressing evolving risks with novel technology.
TN111 Rolling stock – cyber security essentials
This technical note outlines various control measures to mitigate both malicious and non-malicious cyber-attacks on operational and information technology software systems in rolling stock. It suggests the vulnerabilities present in these systems and the critical need to implement basic control measures to minimise the risk of cyber-attacks on rolling stock.
TN112 Driver-Controlled Operation and Driver-Only Operation On-Train Camera Monitoring Systems
This technical note provides supplementary guidance for on-train camera monitoring systems for Driver Controlled Operation (DCO) and Driver-Only Operation (DOO), aiming to optimise system design and maintenance and contribute to safe and efficient DCO and DOO operations within the rail industry.
In the following sections, there are several indicators of performance.
Age profile: The Code requires standards to be reviewed at least every five years. As the review is only due in the fifth year, we measure this over six years. The age profile of standards shows if any are overdue for review or revision.
Deviations: The number of deviations against a standard can be an indicator of the standard’s fitness for purpose. This is most relevant for permanent deviations (as temporary deviations are often to facilitate trials and stageworks and, therefore, not generally an indicator of the suitability of the standard itself). A threshold of ten deviations per standard has historically been used as the measure. The total number of deviation applications is also a measure of suitability of standards more generally. Again, permanent deviations are more relevant for this measure. A breakdown of the deviations received and their status is provided.
Request for Help: The main way for standards users to seek help and propose changes to standards is through the Request for Help process. The requests that have resulted in plans to change standards are listed.
RGSs with non-NTR requirements: While all new and revised RGSs published over at least the past seven years have only contained requirements meeting the criteria of NTRs, some older standards with non-conforming requirements remain. The requirements are still technically valid, but they are not required to be assessed as NTRs when used within the scope of the Railways Interoperability Regulations. If they are, it means that the scope of independent assessment is greater than it should be, which is technically harmless but not economic. Previous standards strategies have sought to eliminate these, which is substantially complete, but a handful remain because they are low priority.
Progress of standards against plans: This section summarises the progress being made on new and revised standards. It helps demonstrate how effectively RSSB is managing change to the standards catalogue.
The Code requires standards to be reviewed at least every five years. As the review is only due in the fifth year, we measure this over six years. In the past six years, we have regularly reviewed all but three of the standards due for review. Figure 4 shows each year with the number of standards that RSSB published. The colour indicates the number of years since the standards were last reviewed.
Overall, standards reviews are being done continually, to schedule and earlier if the case merits it. The number overdue is maintaining its low position as with recent years. Two of the three overdue reviews (for GKGN0554 issue two Guidance on Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) and RIS-3436-TOM issue one Information for Safe Train Operation) were part of larger projects, but these documents were removed from scope, so a separate review is required. The third, RIS-0009-CCS issue one Identification of Signalling and Related Equipment, is awaiting information from a third party.
Figure 4 Number of published standards and years since their last review
Standards with ten or more deviations
The number of deviations against a standard can be an indicator of its fitness for purpose. However, some standards encourage deviations to support trials and temporary works, so the measure is not always appropriate. This report will list any live standards with ten or more deviations. In 2023, there were none.
Deviation applications
Figure 5 and Figure 6 show the number of deviation applications RSSB receives each year and the number of applications that the standards committees approve in the same year. Some applications are waiting for information from the applicant, or the committees have not yet taken a decision on the application. In any given year, the committees may also approve deviations received in previous years, which happens frequently at the beginning of a year. The difference between the quantity received and the quantity approved is mostly due to applicants withdrawing applications (see Figure 7 and Figure 8).
Figure 5 Permanent deviation applications received and approved
Figure 6 Time-limited deviation applications received and approved
The number of applications that were withdrawn or that expired in each year are in Figure 7 and Figure 8.
Figure 7 Permanent deviation applications withdrawn or expired
Figure 8 Time-limited deviation applications withdrawn or expired
The ‘Request for Help’ process is the principal way in which standards users can initially engage with RSSB. This opportunity is available to anybody, and a simple form helps to identify the user, define the problem, and explain what good would look like.
RSSB reviews each request in detail to determine how best to support the applicant. The ‘Request for Help’ process is the primary means to request a change to a standard or provide support to the user in understanding a standard and how to apply it. In other cases, the applicant might need a deviation to the standard, or sometimes it might be more appropriate to publish an amendment to the standard.
The simple ‘Request for Help’ process enables standards users to explain their challenges and the benefits they are seeking, and to engage effectively with RSSB, without needing to have a comprehensive understanding of the standards framework.
The ‘Request for Help’ process is an indicator of the suitability of standards, especially if the outcome is a change to standards. RSSB received 79 requests in 2023, which was ten more than in 2022. Three were not related to individual standards. Of the remaining 76, 41 are likely to result in a change to standards, listed Table 3 below, grouped by standards committee.
Table 3 Request for help applications resulting in changes to command control and signalling standards
In 2023, RSSB received five requests about control command and signalling standards. Three requests have resulted in changes being made, or changes planned to be made, to these standards:
RIS-8060-CCS issue one Engineering Requirements for Dispatch of Trains from Platforms
RIS-0386-CCS issue one Rail Industry Standard on Signal Overrun Risk Evaluation and Assessment
Table 4 Request for help applications resulting in changes to traffic operations management standards
In 2023, RSSB received 44 requests about traffic operation management standards. Eighteen requests have resulted in changes being made, or planned to be made, to these standards:
GERT8000-S5 issue ten Passing a signal at danger or an end of authority (EoA) without a movement authority (MA)
GERT8000-SS2 issue 5.2 Shunting
GERT8000-TW1 issue eighteen Preparation and movement of trains
GERT8000-TW5 issue eleven Defective or isolated vehicles and on-train equipment
GERT8000-T3 issue eleven Possession of a running line for engineering work
GERT8000-TW7 issue nine Wrong-direction movements
GERT8000-TW8 issue 9.1 Level crossings – drivers’ instructions
GERT8000-P1 issue eight Single Line Working
GERT8000-AC issue seven AC Electrified Lines
GERT8000-SP issue six Speeds
GERT8000-TS1 issue eighteen General signalling regulations
GERT8000-TS11 issue five Failure of, or work on, signalling equipment - signallers’ regulations
GERT8000-HB7 issue eight General duties of a controller of site safety (COSS)
New standard to be developed OTPA / PIS interaction [provisional title]
GERT8000-HB12 issue nine Duties of the engineering supervisor (ES) or safe work leader (SWL) in a possession
GERT8000-SS1 issue eight Station duties and train dispatch
RS521 issue six Signals, Handsignals, Indicators and Signs Handbook
RIS-3702-TOM issue three Management of Route Knowledge
Form RT3116 12-18 Overhead Line Permit
GERT8000-M1 issue six Dealing with a train accident or train evacuation
GERT8000-M2 issue six Train stopped by train failure
GERT8000-HB16 issue five AC electrified lines
GERT8000-HB11 issue ten Duties of the person in charge of the possession (PICOP)
Various traffic operation management standards – to agree with industry a suitable replacement term for ‘crippling’ that is inclusive and non-discriminatory
Table 5 Request for Help applications resulting in changes to data, systems, and telematics standards
In 2023, RSSB received one request about data, systems, and telematics. This request has resulted in a planned new standard:
New standard to be developed Unique Service Identifiers [provisional title]
Table 6 Request for help applications resulting in changes to energy standards
In 2023, RSSB received one request about energy standards. A way forward is being discussed.
Table 7 Request for help applications resulting in changes to plant standards
In 2023, RSSB received four requests about plant standards. Two requests have resulted in changes being made, or changes planned to be made, to these standards:
RIS-1710-PLT issue 2.1 Engineering Certification of Railborne Plant and the Assessment of Non-Railborne Plant
Table 8 Request for help applications resulting in changes to infrastructure standards
In 2023, RSSB received six requests about infrastructure standards. Five requests have resulted in changes being made, or changes planned to be made, to these standards:
New standard to be developed Probabilistic Gauging [provisional title]
GIGN5633 issue two Recommendations for the Risk Assessment of Buffer Stops and End Impact Walls
GCGN5612 issue two Rail Traffic Loading Requirements for the Design of Railway Structures
GCRT5021 issue five Track System Requirements
Table 9 Request for help applications resulting in changes to rolling stock standards
In 2023, RSSB received 19 requests about rolling stock standards. Of those, 13 have resulted in changes being made, or changes planned to be made, to these standards:
RIS-2700-RST issue two Rail Industry Standard for Verification of Conformity of Engineering Change to Rail Vehicles
RIS-2704-RST issue one Rail Industry Standard for Wheelsets Handling and Storage
RIS-2706-RST issue 2.1 Recording of Rolling Stock Data
RIS-2712-RST issue 1.1 On-Train Camera Monitoring Systems
New standard to be developed Guidance on Entity in Charge of Maintenance (ECM) Regulations [provisional title]
New standard to be developed Key wagon maintenance requirements [provisional title]
New standard to be developed Safe Integration [provisional title]
GMRT2100 issue 6.1 Rail Vehicle Structures and Passive Safety
RIS-2747-RST issue one Functioning and Control of Exterior Doors on Passenger Vehicles
GMRT2461 issue 3.4 Sanding Equipment
RIS-2795-RST issue 2.2 Track to Train RFID Compatibility
RIS-8270-RST issue 1.1 Route Level Assessment of Technical Compatibility between Vehicles and Infrastructure
RGS can only contain requirements that meet the criteria of NTRs. Historically, the criteria for requirements in RGSs was different, so some older standards contain requirements that are not NTRs. Currently, there are no NTRs because safety requirements are addressed by other means.
RGSs can be divided into two categories:
category A: RGSs where all requirements are notified
category B: RGSs where some requirements are notified.
All new RGSs are in category A, but there are older RGSs that are in category B. Those remaining in category B require attention to migrate the content so that they move into category A or are withdrawn. The action being taken with these is agreed by the relevant standards committees and is summarised below.
This section contains all the RGSs that are live in the standards catalogue.
During the year, four category A standards were revised as part of the normal standards review process. These standards are listed in Table 1.
One standard that was in category B, GCRT5021 issue six Track System Requirements, was revised as part of the normal standards review process and is now in category A. Requirements not meeting the NTR criteria and deemed valid have been transferred to a new complementary RIS, RIS-7707-INS issue one Switches and Crossings.
Another standard previously in category B, GERT8014 issue two Axlebox Condition Monitoring - Hot Axlebox Detection, was withdrawn in June 2023. The standard did not contain requirements that met the NTR criteria. Requirements and guidance deemed to be valid have been transferred to a new RIS, RIS 2714-RST issue one Axle Bearing Condition Monitoring.
There remain just four standards in category B:
GERT8018 issue two – Mechanical Trainstop System InterfaceSeptember 2012 Lead SC: CCS
To date there has been little benefit in allocating resource to revise this standard, but it is currently being reviewed. It contains some requirements that do not meet the NTR criteria, but this only affects the process of authorisation of a new CCS subsystem utilising mechanical train stop technology. Such applications are expected to be infrequent, but the review will determine the way forward for this standard.
GMRT2131 issue one – Audibility and Visibility of Trains December 2015 Lead SC: RST
A project is underway to revise this standard. Requirements that do not meet the NTR criteria will be withdrawn, and requirements deemed to be valid will be transferred to new RISs: RIS-2717-RST issue one Audibility of Rail Vehicles and RIS-2718-RST issue one Visibility of Rail Vehicles. The revised standard will also incorporate content from technical note TN101 Train front-end visibility requirements and safe integration. Industry consultation is planned for October 2024, with publication scheduled for June 2025.
GMRT2132 issue one – On-board Energy Metering for Billing PurposesSeptember 2010 Lead SC: RST
There is currently no activity against this standard pending a policy decision from the DfT on energy metering. The standard cannot be applied, as the transition period that permitted its use in the LOC&PAS NTSN has expired. Therefore, any new rolling stock needs to be NTSN compliant and compatible with what is set out in the standard, but vehicles do not need to be assessed against the standard, as they would if it is an NTR.
GOOTS303 issue one – Secondary Door Locking- Operational RequirementsJanuary 1993 Lead SC: RST
This project has been on hold pending resource allocation. It is expected that a project will be started in 2024 to revise RIS-2747-RST issue one Functioning and Control of Exterior Doors on Passenger Vehicles. As part of this project, valid requirements contained in GOOTS303 will be transferred to RIS-2747-RST, and GOOTS303 will be withdrawn.
The majority of changes to standards are managed as a project (for minor point releases, it is not proportionate to manage these as a project, so simpler arrangements apply). Some are significant multi-year projects, while others are much smaller, in the order of a few months. The number of projects and the number of standards documents produced are crude indicators of the scale of activity and provide a measure of volume from one year to the next.
Table 10 shows various statistics for 2023 and the three preceding years for comparison. During 2023, there were 118 active projects, each one changing at least one standard or related document, and often several. Sometimes, some projects go on hold and come off hold, which means that they will be delivered but are not actively being worked on. Usually, this is because the technical resource is being deployed on higher-priority work or because the project is awaiting input from the industry. The number on hold is comparable to 2022, but these are not necessarily the same projects; some came off hold, but others have gone on hold.
Significantly, for another successive year, for each of the last four years, all projects have been produced on time, or early, against their baselined schedule. This doesn’t always mean that they have met their original schedule, but it does mean that all changes to schedule have been effectively managed and with the support of relevant stakeholders, as appropriate.
The number of projects expected to be delivered in 2024 is higher than in previous years. This includes significant effort in the delivery of proposed revisions to the NTSNs.
Table 10 Project statistics 2020–2023
2020
2021
2022
2023
Active projects at start of year
52
74
88
Projects active during year
85
98
97
118
Projects on hold at end of year
24
14
23
Projects underway at end of year
76
89
90
Projects scheduled to be delivered in next year
12
18
27
Projects delivered during the year
17
15
Projects delivered during the year on time or early
Number of standards documents issued, revised, or withdrawn
58
44