Post-Brexit safety protocols

Standards and protocols regarding safety on the railway will remain in place post-Brexit, the RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board) confirmed on October 4.

The organisation said that regardless of any deal struck by Government with the European Union, legal requirements designed to promote common safety and technical principles across all EU railways will still need to be met by UK companies.

RSSB added that where these exist in EU law, such as Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs), then they will likely still apply during a period of transition, should any deal be done with Brussels.

However, in a no-deal situation, TSIs would be adapted to work in the UK as a domestic legislation, and would be published as National Technical Specification Notices (NTSNs) by the Secretary of State for Transport.

RSSB Director of Standards Tom Lee said: “We have been working very closely with the Department for Transport over the past year to ensure that requirements derived from the EU framework are legally fit for purpose for application in the UK with workable solutions in place, even in a potential ‘no deal’ scenario.

“We want to ensure that day one post-Brexit, the UK standards framework is suitably aligned to the EU for immediate continuity and is legally robust, while providing for possible future divergence, if beneficial.”