Railway safety regime

The Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (ROGS) provide the regulatory regime for rail safety, including mainline railways, tramways and light rail (including London Underground) and heritage railways. The Regulations implement the European Rail Safety Directive (2004/49/EC), the aim of which is to establish a common approach to rail safety that will help support the development of a single market for rail transport services in Europe.

ROGS requires infrastructure managers (e.g. Network Rail) and the railway undertakings (e.g. train operating companies) to manage the safety of their railway operations through the implementation of effective Safety Management Systems (SMS).

The Office of Rail Regulation, the independent safety regulator for railways, is responsible for enforcing compliance with the ROGS Regulations.

For related documents, pages and internet links, see the column on the right.