RSSB membership

RSSB membership brings the rail industry together to solve shared challenges, improving safety, affordability, reliability, accessibility, efficiency, and quality across Britain’s railways.

Who joins RSSB

Our members represent the breadth of the rail industry and are categorised by their primary area of operation:

• Infrastructure managers and owners
• Passenger train operating companies
• Freight and non-passenger operators
• Rolling stock owning companies (ROSCOs)
• Infrastructure contractors
• Suppliers and manufacturers
• Special Regional Rail members.

Organisations with a direct role in operating infrastructure or trains—including integrated railways on national rail infrastructure—are usually obliged to join RSSB as members as part of their regulatory licence conditions.

For others, particularly those in the supply chain, membership is a choice which provides access to industry decision-making, informing best practice through research and standards to de-risk change.

Why join RSSB

Rail needs to improve performance and resilience, maintain safety and wellbeing, and cut unnecessary cost and risk, as well as tackle structural reform.

As a highly interconnected system, no single organisation can solve these challenges alone. RSSB enables collaboration at scale—bringing the industry together to:

• Develop shared solutions
• Access independent research and insight
• Shape standards and best practice
• Support innovation across the network.

We provide a trusted platform for industry to align around common goals and deliver system-wide improvement.

Membership benefits

Members benefit from:

• Playing an active role in the pursuit of solutions and introducing change.
• Access to world-leading technical specialists in railway operations, engineering, risk, sustainability, and standards.
• Objective systems-thinking centred on optimising benefits and reducing harm and cost.
• Acute understanding of risks and opportunities presented at interfaces within the system.
• Insights from an independent, respected standpoint using research and foresight planning.
• Dependable, robust, industry-owned process for codifying best practice in cross-industry standards and guidance, unlocking innovation.
• Continuous dialogue with industry and government.