Rail Standards Strategy
The industry’s strategy for standards sets the direction for travel for standards and related activities which can be influenced by RSSB. The strategy was approved the RSSB board and endorsed by the Industry Standards Coordination Committee (ISCC). The current strategy for standards provided this direction of travel for CP5 and beyond and aspects of the strategy remain valid now. However, now we are in CP6, the strategy is under review. That will address new challenges and opportunities that have emerged since its publication and are likely to emerge in CP6 and beyond.
Additionally, each standards committee has its own approach in response to the general strategy, including strategic directions for the TSIs. You can find these and other approved strategies under Codes and Strategies in the standards catalogue.
Fourth Railway Package
The 4th Railway Package is a set of six legislative texts. It comprises two 'pillars':
- The 'technical pillar', which was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in April 2016, includes:
- Regulation (EU) 2016/796 on the European Union Agency for Railways and repealing Regulation (EC) n° 881/2004
- Directive (EU) 2016/797 on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union (Recast of Directive 2008/57/EC)
- Directive (EU) 2016/798 on railway safety (Recast of Directive 2004/49/EC)
- The 'market pillar', which was adopted in December 2016, includes:
- Regulation (EU) 2016/2338 amending Regulation (EU) 1370/2007, which deals with the award of public service contracts for domestic passenger transport services by rail ('PSO Regulation')
- Directive 2016/2370/EU amending Directive 2012/34/EU, which deals with the opening of the market of domestic passenger transport services by rail and the governance of the railway infrastructure ('Governance Directive')
- Regulation (EU) 2016/2337 repealing Regulation (EEC) 1192/69 on the normalisation of the accounts of railway undertakings
The European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) has published a simple introductory video which provides an overview of the legislative changes. The UK has notified the European Commission that it intends to transpose the relevant recast Directives into UK law by 16 June 2020.
Brexit and the impact on standards
The standards and protocols that help ensure the different companies across the railway work safely as a system will remain after Brexit. We have written an overview of the likely immediate impacts for RSSB-managed and European standards on this page.
National Technical Specification Notices
In the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, UK National Technical Specification Notices (NTSNs) will replace EU Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs). These will preserve the technical content of TSIs. RSSB has worked closely with DfT to develop the draft NTSNs and they are available from this page to support DfT’s consultation with the industry.
Autonomous systems – facing up to the regulatory challenges
More automation and autonomous systems are being implemented on the railway system. It is essential that the regulatory system is ready to support these changes. And the legal and ethical aspects of such changes must be properly understood. Standards could play a key role in codifying how these challenges are addressed. Read this blog, which sets out some high level principles for consideration when introducing such changes.