Rule Book app FAQs

When you log into the app for the first time, you’ll be asked for your area of interest. The app groups documents (Manuals and Handbooks) based on different job groups: 

• train operations staff 
• signaller and signalling technician
• possession workers
• driver
• track workers.

The app will then suggest the collection of documents to download to your ‘My Rule Book’ area in the app. When you download them, they’ll be available offline. You can then tailor the app based on the documents you need.

You can change what’s in ‘My Rule Book’, adding and removing content at any time.

Yes. Anything downloaded to the ‘My Rule Book’ section is available offline on your device. 

No. The app is simply designed to allow rail staff to access the Rule Book in a more intuitive and efficient way.

All rail companies will have relevant policies and internal communication campaigns in place to ensure that staff know when they can and can’t use mobile devices, and these will still apply.

Yes. The app has been available for a yearly subscription cost per user (one licence per person) since April 2018. 

Members get a substantial discount on the app:

• members: £6.40 + VAT a year, per licensed user
• non-members: £11.47 + VAT a year, per licensed user.

We have a minimum of 10 Rule Book licences per year to cover the administration costs of setting your organisation up and providing continued support during annual renewals.

Rail staff can: 

• access the Rule Book on their phone or tablet, even when offline
• search and navigate the whole Rule Book quickly and intuitively
• personalise their Rule Book, selecting only the parts that they need
• bookmark sections of the Rule Book as ‘favourites’
• add personal notes to capture their own thoughts
• be notified of Future Amendments via the app, giving them immediate access and allowing them to acknowledge the updates with one click.

Rail companies can: 

• save money and paper
• maintain and reissue Rule Book access centrally using the admin control
• check who has acknowledged updates and run user activity reports
• check what Modules staff have downloaded and viewed and run reports
• improve their briefing process.

The Rule Book app allows rail staff to easily access the Rule Book via their smartphone or tablet. It now has improved usability, better cross-document search functionality, intuitive navigation, and responsive design. You can also easily access content even when offline, and updates are made automatically.

Arranging for your team to have access to the RSSB Rule Book app is a quick and easy process.

The RSSB Rule Book app is available for download from the relevant app stores.

Some organisations use app distribution channels, or software that allows an app to be pushed out centrally to many devices at once. This is a useful option if you have large teams who all need the RSSB Rule Book app.

We can also provide a range of briefing materials, which you can customise and adapt to help spread the message to your teams about how to use the app and make sure it works for them.

It’s not possible for organisation-level users or Admins to allocate specific Rule Book documents to staff centrally.

However, Admins can view which documents a user has selected for their ‘My Rule Book’ section, what issue they are, and whether they’ve acknowledged receipt of updates.

Obviously, Admins or relevant leads in an organisation can recommend content to users and ensure that they know how to download the right content, but this isn’t available through the app.

Organisation Admins can view which documents a user has selected for their ‘My Rule Book’ section, what issue they are, and whether they’ve acknowledged the receipt of the latest content.

You need to have an internet connection (either via Wi-Fi or mobile data) to download and initialise the app, and to download Rule Book content onto the device in the ‘My Rule Book’ section of the app.

Once you have downloaded content, you don’t need to be connected to the internet to see it. You can consult the Rule Book sections you’ve downloaded whether you’re connected or not.

However, you’ll need to be connected to receive notifications of updates and to download them.

The new version of the RSSB Rule Book app will support the current OS version minus 1. Current iOS is 17, and Current Android is 14.* The app may also be usable in iOS version 15+ (2021) and Android 10+ (2019). 

*Correct at time of publication.

RSSB will publish future updates to the content—for example, if there is a new issue of a Handbook because of a rule change. When you’re online, these updates will automatically be pushed to your device to view and acknowledge before they come into force.

When this content comes into force, content will automatically replace the previous version. 

The app’s registration process will only recognise and automatically approve work-based email addresses (like your-name@company-name.co.uk), and users must formally acknowledge and consent to the app via that email.

If registering with a personal email address and your organisation has a local administrator, that administrator can approve or decline access to the app. If your organisation doesn’t have a local administrator setup, the registration will be declined. Local administrators are responsible for managing users with personal email accounts and revoking licences when users move to other organisations.

Yes, if your organisation has active licences for the RSSB Rule Book app.

When your organisation adopts the app, you must register and sign in using your official work email domain (like @company-name.co.uk).

Once approved, you can access the app, either once it has been pushed to your device centrally or via the app store. You can then register and sign in to the app using your work email address.

However, once set up, you can also download the app onto a personal device from a different platform, then use your work email address to register or sign in to the app. You’ll see your configurations across all their devices. 

Yes, from RSSB. Simply email: RuleBookApp@rssb.co.uk. 

Alternatively, you can contact us via our Customer Portal. We’ll push enquiries to the right people to address—for example, to the app developers if there’s a technical problem with the app itself.