Safety Management, Certification and Authorisation
The Department for Infrastructure acts as the Rail Safety Authority for Northern Ireland and is responsible for ensuring compliance with the rail safety and interoperability regulatory framework. The Department does this in accordance with the Railway Safety Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 and associated regulations.
The Railways (Safety Management) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 when introduced was to harmonise safety standards specifically in relation to safety management, certification and authorisation. These regulations impose prohibitions and requirements in relation to the safety of Northern Ireland railways and cover the following key areas:
- requirements for safety management systems, safety certificates and safety authorisations;
- risk assessment, co-operation and reporting requirements; and
- requirements relating to safety critical work.
This guide provides a summary of the regulations and covers significant elements of the legislation that those who have duties under this legislation need to understand.