The context of the Railway Standards Code and the Railway Standards Manual

The Railway Standards Code, commonly referred to as ‘the Code’, is a fundamental part of the organisational structure for standards in the GB railway. It is based upon the World Trade Organisation principles for the development of International Standards, which were agreed upon by the Technical Barriers to Trade Committee in 2000. The Code is approved by the industry regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), and has been a part of how RSSB operates right from the start. ‘The Standards Manual’ is its sister document and describes how the requirements of the Code are to be delivered. 

What is the Railway Standards Code?

The Code establishes the governance arrangements for creating, changing, deviating from, and publishing railway standards. It sets out how RSSB works collaboratively throughout industry on standards, and a structure for managing the standards through the standards committees. It establishes the Industry Standards Coordination Committee, which is accountable to the RSSB Board for the management of the Code. It also includes a change control mechanism and the process for making appeals against decisions. Most importantly, it establishes the need to operate through consensus in all standards-related activities.

What is the Railway Standards Manual?

The purpose of the Manual is to provide guidance about the processes by which the requirements of the Code are delivered, the roles and responsibilities of RSSB and others within those processes, the processes for the production and maintenance of railway standards, and the process for agreeing RSSB support for the production of other industry documents.