What does RDDS do?

RDDS has two principal functions:

  • It acts as the custodian of the former British Railway Board’s library of Traction and Rolling Stock drawings and other associated documents (also known as RMD).
  • It provides copies of such documentation to people and organisations entitled to access them, including the public in many cases.

Managing the RDDS library

The library contains up to 300,000 drawings and 30,000 maintenance documents relating to traction and rolling stock introduced onto the GB railway network prior to 1996 and many other associated documents. The library is closed to new material.

Provision of documents to railway industry organisations with access rights, and to other parties, is managed on behalf of RDDS by Serco Raildata, under a business services agreement.

History of RDDS

On 30 March 2007 RSSB, on behalf of the rail industry, acquired RDDS from the British Railways Board (Residuary) BRBR, for a notional consideration. BRBR retained the ownership of the IPR vested in the documentation in the library until September 2013, when BRBR was abolished and the Secretary of State for Transport transferred it and all the rights and obligations of BRBR with respect to RDDS, to RSSB.

Management of RDDS

RSSB has appointed Mark Phillips, Luisa Moisio and Mark Oakley as executive directors of RDDS. Since the beginning of 2009 the annual budget for RDDS and the allocation of standing charges for subsequent years has been approved by the Board of RSSB.  With effect from 2011 RSSB members fund the bulk of the RDDS fixed costs through their basic membership levy (there are two organisations who are not RSSB members and pay a separate levy to RDDS). The operational costs of RDDS are funded through call off charges for copies of documents, which all parties pay. Changes to these charges are approved by the RSSB Board (usually annually).

Access to the documents

The general arrangements for access to the documents can be summarised as:

  • Access to BRB (now RSSB) IPR documents
    • Any party can have access to these documents in exchange for payment of the relevant call off charge.
  • Access to third party IPR documents
    • Only parties to Universal Licence Agreements can have access to third party IPR (non-BRB documents), again in exchange for payment of the relevant call off charge.

Contact information

For most queries about documents in the RDDS library, please contact the PADS Helpdesk at Serco Raildata.

PADS Helpdesk

Tel: 0330 1098865
Email: padshelp@serco.com

For enquiries about entitlement to access third party IPR or in relation to Usage Agreements please contact the RSSB Company Secretary at company.secretary@rssb.co.uk.

Railway Documentation and Drawing Services Limited is registered in England under company number 03128142. Registered office address: The Helicon, 1 South Place, London, England, EC2M 2RB