Europe

Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is involved in a huge programme of work at European level, with the introduction of the railways interoperability directives and the second railway package in the GB, and the development of a proposed directive on the licensing of train drivers as part of the third railway package.

Interoperability is at the heart of our work and RSSB together with the Department for Transport and other governmental bodies is supporting the rail industry to prepare for its application in GB. The benefits are appreciable, not only because it opens frontiers within Europe, but it also offers access to a single market in all member states of the European Union.

Because of its expertise in safety and standards, RSSB is playing a leading role on behalf of the GB industry in lobbying the European Commission and co-ordinating industry’s input into the development of the Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs). The objective of this lobbying is to influence as much as possible the final shape of the various directives and TSIs. This cannot, however, be achieved without the valued collaboration of the GB rail industry.