Introduction
Sir Peter Parker, Chairman of the British Rail Board in 1976–1983, famously said that ‘railways tend to fall down on their interfaces’. System Interface Committees (SICs) are senior cross-industry technical groups. Currently, there are six SICs, which help the railway industry manage these interfaces in an effective, safe, and cost-efficient way.
SICs act at a strategic and tactical level by identifying opportunities, commissioning studies, and championing research findings. They evaluate solutions and make recommendations in the best interest of the railway as a whole. Their recommendations inform decisions and standards.
Visit the RSSB website for further information on SICs.
The Vehicle/Structures System Interface Committee (V/S SIC) focuses on the interface between rail vehicles and the fixed infrastructure, in terms of physical clearance (gauging) and route availability. The committee leads and supports the following areas:
understanding customer needs for improvements in gauging
optimising gauging for the vehicle/structure interface
developing gauging classification methods and assessment techniques that simplify access to the national rail network
improving stepping distances at the platform-train interface.
V/S SIC has representatives from passenger and freight train operators, rolling stock owners and leasing companies, rolling stock manufacturers, infrastructure managers and owners, and suppliers. It has one representative from RSSB and invites observers from the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail and Road.
V/S SIC has one subgroup.
Have you used work that V/S SIC initiated and steered? We welcome feedback, suggestions for improvement, and offers to champion wider application. We would also like to hear about your own work and challenges you are facing.
Further information on V/S SIC’s work is available on the RSSB website.
Contact Roisin Mulvany, Lead Industry Group Manager, for further information or to get involved: Roisin.Mulvany@rssb.co.uk
Find further invitations to take part in research projects or join steering groups in the articles that follow.
Many SIC activities are guided by and support the Rail Technical Strategy, which is made up of five functional priorities and three critical enablers. We have indicated which priority or enabler an activity supports using the following icons.
