Railway safety regime
The Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (ROGS) provide the new regulatory regime for rail safety, including mainline railways, tramways and light rail (including London Underground) and heritage railways.
The regulation of rail safety is currently in a period of transition from the former Railway Safety Case regime to the new ROGS Regulations regime. The new ROGS 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.
Under the new ROGS Regulations, responsibility for managing rail safety is transferred to infrastructure managers (e.g. Network Rail) and the railway undertakings (e.g. train operating companies). ROGS requires infrastructure managers and the railway undertakings 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.
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