Safety in our Railway Upgrade Plan
We are committed to upgrading the railway safely
The safety of workers, the public, passengers and lineside neighbours is at the heart of every decision taken during a project life cycle from initial design to maintaining and using the finished product.
Whether you are a passenger, visiting one of our stations, a lineside neighbour, a supplier, or a Network Rail employee, we are committed to continually improving our safety performance to ensure everyone gets home safe every day.
The Health and Safety Management System
The health and safety of our employees and others affected by our activities is assured through the effective design, construction, maintenance and operation of the network. Part of our approach to achieve this is our Health and Safety Management System (H&SMS) which describes the framework and arrangements in place to deliver the company’s health and safety vision.
Our H&SMS is driven by our strong and committed leadership who ensure we understand risk, plan and implement effective controls and measure and monitor to inform continual learning and improvement.
It’s underpinned by rules, standards, specifications and procedures, which form an intrinsic part of the overall system. Industry or Network Rail standards sit within accredited Integrated Management Systems. These governing standards are fundamental in assuring safety and efficiency allowing us to identify good practice, set standards for how we and our supply chain plan, carry out and review work, achieve legal compliance, and enable our people to locate our processes and procedures quickly and easily.
Construction, Design and Management Regulations (CDM)
CDM regulations are a fundamental part of safely delivering projects within the Railway Upgrade Plan. It’s a legal process which outlines high-level requirements to be implemented for a project and as a business.
Excellence in safety
Together, our CDM regulations and H&SMS standards define a hierarchical management framework and ensure clarity on accountability and best practice for compliance with safety for all those affected by the work we carry out on improving Britain’s railway.