The Department assists the railway industry to be efficient, resilient, environmentally friendly and safe.

These pages contain information about the interoperability regime, a European initiative designed to improve the competitive position of the rail sector to enable it to compete more effectively with other forms of transport. It does this through a regulatory framework which encourages the technical harmonisation and standardisation of Europe’s railways and common checking and authorisation processes.

The Department is responsible for the implementation of interoperability within Great Britain and these pages contain more detail and guidance for the rail industry and anyone with an interest in the development of rail transport.

Contact Us

If you cannot find the information you need, have questions, comments or require further guidance, please contact us at interoperability@dft.gsi.gov.uk.

News flash

A free email service providing information on the latest interoperability developments. To subscribe, email interoperability@dft.gsi.gov.uk with “News Flash” as the subject.

Safety

Interoperability works in tandem with a separate, but complimentary, safety regime. More information and guidance is available from the Office of Rail Regulation at www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1511.

Listed below are the main pages in the interoperability site and an outline of their contents

Implementation

Information about how interoperability is implemented in Great Britain including strategy, legislation and national implementation plans.

Guidance and helpnotes

Guidance on all aspects of interoperability in the form of Helpnotes designed to inform the industry about its application in Great Britain, the statutory obligations it creates and best practice.

Common technical standards

Details of Technical Specifications for Interoperability, which define how components must be built, compliance assessed and verified, as well as the suite of supporting Notified National Technical Rules.