In accordance with Section 28(3) of the Railway Safety Act 2005, the Railway Safety Commission (RSC) is required to present an annual report to the Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport. This is the annual report for the year 2012 and, in addition to providing information on the activities, administration and governance of the RSC, it presents statistical data on the safety performance of the various participants in the railway sector in Ireland during the year under review.
The RSC continues to participate with the National Safety Authorities of the other Member States of the European Union in the on-going development and implementation of the European railway safety regulatory framework. This results in a considerable workload for the RSC in relation to the harmonisation of national legislation and implementation of EU common safety methods.
EU Regulations mandate the manner in which railway Infrastructure Managers and Railway Undertakings are to be supervised to ensure that they implement and adhere to their respective approved Safety Management System (SMS). The RSC audit and inspection regime ensures that duty holders’ compliance with their respective SMS is supervised in accordance with the common safety method specified in Commission Regulation (EU) No.1077/2012. This regime was extended during 2012 to cover the activities of the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) on the IÉ network.