RSSB publishes five-year business plan to support a safer railway

Setting out how RSSB will meet a range of industry priorities and challenges to put passengers first, the plan focuses on the crucial areas of safety, health and wellbeing, sustainability, efficiency, innovation and the future post-Brexit.

Chief Executive, Mark Phillips, said:

“Our new five-year Business Plan sets out how we will continue to support our members and stakeholders to deliver a better, safer railway into CP6 and beyond putting passengers first.

“With a sharp focus on research, analysis and standards, we are determined to improve the overall experience for our customers, deliver value for our membership and reduce our dependence on the membership levy by developing commercial opportunities including enhanced training and bespoke services.

“RSSB is in a unique position within the rail industry and we are indispensable when it comes to ensuring best practice in reducing risk and cost, and maintaining the high levels of safety the industry currently enjoys.”

Specific 2019-2020 deliverables include:

• Supporting the industry to reduce the effects of poor adhesion conditions using improved technology and procedures to achieve better reliability and resilience, including piloting double variable rate sanders on the GB mainline
• Launching a new Health by Design web hub, containing key resources for incorporating health and wellbeing within member organisations, including trialling health and wellbeing training for the workplace.
• Delivering research outputs to help support industry performance as part of the PERFORM research programme, including research into enabling better planning and resource management during train disruption.
• Building on our work in CP5 to provide the functionality, guidance and training members require to use the industry’s Safety Management Intelligence System (SMIS). This is delivering the safety intelligence a world class railway needs, with better linking of data to the tools, models and systems used by the industry.
• Refreshing the industry strategy for Leading Health and Safety on Britain’s Railway (LHSBR), monitoring progress through the publishing of quarterly updates, working in collaboration with the industry.
• Agreeing the revised regulatory framework, including the role of standards with industry and the Regulator, in-line with post-Brexit legal framework, amending standards, policies and governance.
• Developing new digital railway standards based on the requirements from the Digital Railway Programme, supporting the development of solutions so ensuring human factors are fully considered in the on-going work.
• Supporting delivery of the industry’s carbon and air quality strategies including identifying, agreeing and systematically collecting environmental metrics for the rail industry to monitor.

RSSB has developed its CP6 Strategic Business Plan in consultation with members, affiliates and the wider GB rail industry.

For more information read the full report.