Railway Safety Act 2005

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Safety management systems and safety case.

39.—(1) For the purpose of complying with its duty under section 36 , a railway undertaking shall implement a safety management system and shall prepare a document (“safety case”) describing the components of such safety management system.

(2) A safety case shall achieve the following two objectives—

(a) it shall demonstrate that the railway undertaking has the ability to properly assess and effectively control risks to the safety of persons, in compliance with its general duty under section 36 , and

(b) it shall provide a working document by which the railway undertaking and the Commission can ensure that the safety systems described in the safety case are being properly implemented and continue to be maintained.

(3) To achieve the objectives referred to in subsection (2), a safety case shall contain at least the following components—

(a) a general description of the operations, or proposed operations, of the railway undertaking,

(b) a statement of the safety objectives and safety policy of the railway undertaking,

(c) an identification of the hazards arising from the operations of the railway undertaking, an assessment of the risks and details of the measures in place or proposed to mitigate such risks,

(d) the management and organisational arrangements necessary for the implementation and management of railway safety, and

(e) arrangements for monitoring, audit, and consequent review and revision of the safety case.

(4) The Commission may prepare and, after consultation with the Council, railway undertakings and such other persons as in the opinion of the Commission may be relevant, publish guidelines, from time to time, on the appropriate contents of a safety case and on appropriate technical principles and specifications, and a railway undertaking shall, for the purposes of complying with its duty under section 36 , in preparing a safety case or a revision to a safety case, and for the purposes of complying with sections 42 and 43 , have regard to such guidelines.

(5) A safety case shall be submitted to the Commission in accordance with section 45 for acceptance by the Commission in accordance with section 46 .

(6) A railway undertaking shall consult with its staff and staff representatives in the preparation of a safety case.

(7) A safety case shall contain the title and office address of one person in a senior management position within the railway undertaking who is responsible for ensuring, and has sufficient authority to ensure, that the undertaking implements the provisions of its safety case.