Systems Interface Committees

Purpose
The purpose of a Systems Interface Committee (SIC) is to assist the railway industry to manage all aspects of identified system interfaces in the most cost effective and efficient way.

SIC Governance and Membership
The SIC Protocol sets out a framework for the establishment, operation and management of SICs.

Issue Three of the SIC Protocol was approved by the RSSB Board on 11 December 2008 and came into force on 01 January 2009. The main changes between Issue Two and Issue Three are:

• Inclusion of the role of the Technical Strategy Advisory Group in relation to SICs
• Reference to the Rail Technical Strategy in the purpose statement for the SICs
• Changes to the membership of SICs. This follows the principles of the Technical Strategy Advisory Group which provides full membership for all constituencies
• The removal of some of the detail of the support provided by RSSB so as to provide greater flexibility in adjusting the type and level of support to meet the needs of individual SICs as their requirements change
• Rationalisation of the structure of the document

Senior industry figures have volunteered to chair the SICs, and have been formally appointed by the RSSB Board. Each of the following industry categories, together with RSSB, the Department for Transport and the Office of Rail Regulation is entitled to one member on each SIC.

• Passenger train operators
• Non-passenger train operators
• Network Rail
• Rolling stock owners
• Infrastructure contractors
• Suppliers

In addition to being a member of each SIC, RSSB also provides a facilitation and procurement service to the SICs.

• Identify opportunities for improving efficiency at the interface between vehicles and infrastructure and consider how to develop and implement them
• Commission studies or research or use other methods to seek solutions to interface issues and to develop opportunities where appropriate
• Identify solutions to issues, and make recommendations to the Technical Strategy Advisory Group, industry (including RSSB) or Department for Transport on the best solutions. In so doing, recommendations should take into account the benefits to the industry as a whole, where the specific benefits will fall and the cost of implementing the recommendations
• Promote agreement on how solutions could be implemented.

For a specific interface issue, a SIC will typically determine solutions based on sound technical and economic evaluation and identify which is in the best interest of the industry as a whole. Some of these solutions may be implemented unilaterally where it is in the commercial interest of individual organisations to do so. Existing processes (such as vehicle or network change) will be used as far as possible to balance instances where the benefits and costs of a given action may not lie in equal measure with the same parties. Where such processes are unsuitable, the regulators may act to ensure that parties are appropriately incentivised to implement optimal system-wide solutions.

Any general queries concerning SICs should be directed to Jon Taylor on 020 3142 5601 in the first instance.