01.02.06
Railway safety – all change?
Responsibility for railway safety regulation will soon transfer to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) from the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and Executive (HSE). This will enact the Government's intention to bring all aspects of rail regulation - safety, reliability and efficiency – under one roof. But will anything change?
The ORR will regulate safety during the construction and operation of the railways, its remit covering mainline and heritage railways, metros, light rail systems, guided buses and certain fairground attractions. However, its jurisdiction will not cover the carriage of dangerous goods by rail, which will remain the responsibility of the HSE.
Inspection and enforcement of safety will be governed by the anticipated Railway Enforcing Authority Regulations, which will clarify which inspection activities will be carried out by the ORR, HSE or local authorities. The ORR has published a draft Enforcement Policy Statement for comment, which is almost identical to the HSC's current Enforcement Policy – for example, it is interesting to note that the ORR intends to allocate resources to "strike a balance between investigations and mainly preventative action". It remains to be seen whether the ORR's intended Health and Safety Strategy will follow the current tougher enforcement stance or revert to the days of more proactive regulation.
Accident investigation will be the responsibility of the Rail Accident Investigation Board (RAIB), and the ORR states that it will work with the RAIB to identify root causes and consider any recommendations to reduce risks. Although the ORR intends to sign up to the liaison protocol for work related deaths, how the three responsible authorities - the British Transport Police (BTP), RAIB and ORR - will work together in investigating fatalities remains to be seen.
In theory, the published documentation and avowed intentions imply that safety regulation will continue unchanged, but for the names. In practice, subtle changes in enforcement style are bound to occur. With the prospect of new corporate manslaughter legislation growing stronger (the Government has promised legislation before the end of this Parliament) and fines for rail crashes rocketing, such subtleties could have substantial financial impact for offenders.
Helen Grice is an associate solicitor in Pinsent Mason's health and safety team and is a corporate member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (MIOSH). She can be contacted on 020 7490 4000 or at [email protected]
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